sec 

3S-37 


•#     W%   /TTnAtJasi^ 


TWENTY-FIVE 


VILLAGE  SERMONS, 


BY 

CHARLES'  KINGSLEY,  Jun., 

RECTOR  OF  EVERSLEY,  HANTS,  CANON  OF  MIDDLEHAM,  YORKSHIRE,  AND  AUTHOR 
OF  "ALTON  LOCKE,"  ETC. 


FROM    THS     LAST    LONDON    IDITIOl 


PHILADELPHIA: 

H.  HOOKER,  CORNER  OF  CHESTNUT  AND  EIGHTH  STS. 
1854. 


W.  S.  IOUNG,  PRIXTl:r 


CONTENTS. 


SERMON  I. 


GOD'S   WORLD. 

PAGE. 

0  Lord,  how  manifold  are  Thy  works !  in  wisdom  hast 
Thou  made  them  all :  the  earth  is  full  of  Thy  riches. — 
(Psalm  civ.  24.)  .....         9 


-  SERMON  II. 

RELIGION   NOT   GODLINESS. 

He  watereth  the  hills  from  His  chambers :  the  earth  is 
satisfied  with  the  fruit  of  Thy  works.  He  causeth  the 
grass  to  grow  for  the  cattle,  and  herb  for  the  service 
of  man :  that  he  may  bring  forth  food  out  of  the  earth; 
and  wine  that  maketh  glad  the  heart  of  man,  and  oil 
to  make  his  face  to  shine,  and  bread  which  strength- 
eneth  man's  heart. — (Psalm  civ.  13 — 15.)     .  .       21 


IV  CONTENTS. 

*  SERMON  III. 

LIFE    AND   DEATH. 

PAGE. 

0  Lord,  how  manifold  are  Thy  works !  in  wisdom  hast 
Thou  made  them  all:  the  earth  is  full  of  Thy  riches. 
That  Thou  givest  them  they  gather:  Thou  openest 
Thine  hand,  they  are  filled  with  good:  Thou  hidest 
Thy  face,  they  are  troubled :  Thou  takest  away  their 
breath,  they  die,  and  return  to  their  dust:  Thou 
sendest  forth  Thy  Spirit,  and  they  are  created:  and 
Thou  renewest  the  face  of  the  earth. — (Psalm  civ. 

24,  28—30.)     ......       33 

•  SERMON  IV. 

THE   WORK   OF    GOd's   SPIRIT. 

Do  not  err,  my  beloved  brethren :  every  good  gift  and 
every  perfect  gift  is  from  above,  and  cometh  down 
from  the  Father  of  lights.— (James,  i.  16,  17.)  .       43 

*  SERMON  V. 

FAITH. 

The  just  shall  live  by  faith.— (Habakkuk,  ii.  4.)  .       55 

SERMON  VI. 

THE    SPIRIT    AND    THE    FLESH. 

1  say,  then,  Walk  in  the  Spirit,  and  ye  shall  not  fulfil 

the  lusts  of  the  flesh.  For  the  flesh  lusteth  against 
the  Spirit,  and  the  Spirit  against  the  flesh,  and  these 
are  contrary  the  one  to  the  other. — (Galatians,  v.  16.)       68 


CONTENTS.  Y 

■  SERMON  VII. 

RETRIBUTION. 

PAGE. 

Be  sure  your  sin  will  find  you  out. — (Numbers,  xxxii. 
23.)      .  .  .  .  .  .80 

•    SERMON  VIII. 

SELF-DESTRUCTION. 

The  Lord  hath  put  a  lying  spirit  in  the  mouth  of  all  these 
Thy  Prophets.— (1  Kings,  xxii.  23.)    .  .  .90 

'    SERMON  IX. 

HELL    ON    EARTH. 

And,  behold,  the  evil  spirits  cried  out,  saying,  What 
have  we  to  do  with  Thee,  Jesus,  Thou  Son  of  God? 
Art  thou  come  hither  to  torment  us  before  the  time'? — 
(Matthew,  viii.  29.)    .  .  .  .  .99 

SEUMON  X. 

NOAH'S    JUSTICE. 

Noah  was  a  just  man  and  perfect  in  his  generations, 
and  Noah  walked  with  God. — (Genesis,  vi.  9.)         .     112 

■      SERMON  XI. 

THE   NOACHIC   COVENANT. 

And  God  spake  unto  Noah,  and  his  sons  with  him,  say- 
ing, And  I,  behold  I,  establish  my  covenant  with 
you,  and  with  your  seed  after  you. — (Genesis,  ix. 
8,  9.)    . 115 


VI  CONTENTS. 

SERMON  XII. 

Abraham's  faith. 

PAGE. 

By  faith  Abraham  sojourned  in  the  land  of  promise  as 
in  a  strange  country,  dwelling  in  tabernacles  with 
Isaac  and  Jacob,  the  heirs  with  him  of  the  same  pro- 
mise. For  he  looked  for  a  city,  which  hath  founda- 
tions, whose  builder  and  maker  is  God. — (Hebrews, 
xi.  9,  10.)         .  .  .  .  .  .133 

SERMON  XII  [. 
Abraham's  obedience. 
By  faith  Abraham,  when  he  was  tried,  offered  up  Isaac; 
and  he  that  had  received  the  promises  offered  up  his 
only-begotten  son,  of  whom  it  was  said,  that  in  Isaac 
shall  thy  seed  be  called;  accounting  that  God  was 
able  to  raise  him  up,  even  from  the  dead;  from 
whence  also  he  received  him  in  a  figure. — (Hebrews, 
xi.  17—19.)     .  .  .  . •■•  .  .147 

"  SERMON  XIV. 

OUR   FATHER   IN    HEAVEN. 

I  write  unto  you,  little  children,  because  ye  have  known 
the  Father.— (Uohn,  ii.  13.)  .  .  .157 

SERMON  XV. 

THE   TRANSFIGURATION. 

Jesus  taketh  Peter,  and  James,  and  John,  and  leadeth      •    .< 
them  up  into  a  high  mountain  apart,  and  wTas  trans- 
figured before  them. — (Mark,  ix.  2.)  .  .     168 

*   SERMON  XVI. 

THE   CRUCIFIXION. 

He  is  brought  as  a  lamb  to  the  slaughter. — (Isaiah, 
liii.  7.)  ......     181 


Pfi. 


vii 

■  ' 


m  ■ 

"  SERMON  XVII. 

THE    RESURRECTION. 

PAGE. 

He  is  not  here — He  is  risen. — (Luke,  xxiv.  6.)  .187 


SERMON  XVIII. 

IMPROVEMENT. 

The  righteous  shall  flourish  like  the  palm  tree  :  he  shall 
grow  like  the  cedar  in  Lebanon.  Those  that  be 
planted  in  the  house  of  the  Lord  shall  flourish  in  the 
courts  of  our  God.  They  shall  still  bring  forth  fruit  in 
old  age;  they  shall  be  fat  and  flourishing. — (Psalm 
xcii.  12.)  ...... 


199 


-    SERMON  XIX. 

man's  working  day. 
Jesus  answered,  Are  there  not  twelve  hours  in  the  day? 
If  any  man  walk  in  the  day,  he  stumbleth  not,  be- 
cause he  seeth  the  light  of  this  world.  But  if  a  man 
walk  in  the  night,  he  stumbleth,  because  there  is  no 
light  in  him. — (John,  xi.  9,  10.) 


208 


-  SERMON  XX. 

ASSOCIATION. 

Bear  ye  one  another's  burdens,  and  so  fulfil  the  law  of 
Christ. — (Galatians,  vi.  2.)     . 


218 


*    SERMON  XXI. 

HEAVEN    ON    EARTH. 

Whether  ye  eat  or  drink,  or  whatsoever  ye  do,  do  all 
to  the  glory  of  God.— (1  Cor.,  x.  31.) 


228 


Vlll  CONTENTS. 

-  SERMON  XXII. 

NATIONAL    PRIVILEGES. 

PAGE. 

Blessed  are  the  eyes  which  see  the  things  which  ye 
see :  for  I  tell  you,  that  many  prophets  and  kings 
have  desired  to  see  those  things  which  ye  see,  and 
have  not  seen  them;  and  to  hear  those  things  which 
ye  hear,  and  have  not  heard  them.— (Luke,  x.  23.)  .     236 

*  SERMON  XXIII. 

LENTEN    THOUGHTS. 

Now,  therefore,  thus  saith  the  Lord  of  Hosts,  Consider 
your  ways. — (Haggai,  i.  5.)   .  .  .  .     247 

SERMON  XXIV. 

ON    BOOKS. 

In  the  beginning  was  the  Word,  and  the  Word  was  with 
God,  and  the  Word  was  God. — (John,  i.  1.)  .  .     256 

SERMON  XXV, 

THE    COURAGE    OF    THE    SAVIOUR. 

Then  after  that  saith  He  to  His  disciples,  Let  us  go  into 
Judea  again.  His  disciples  say  to  Him,  Master,  the 
Jews  of  late  sought  to  stone  Thee,  and  goest  Thou 
thither  again?— (John,  xi.  7,  8.)         .  .  .     267 


VILLAGE  SERMONS 


SERMON   I. 


GOD'S  WORLD. 

"0  Lord,  how  manifold  are  Thy  works!  in  wisdom  hast  Thou 
made  them  all:  the  earth  is  full  of  Thy  riches."— Ps.  civ.  24. 

Wpien  we  read  such  psalms  as  the  one  from  which 
this  verse  is  taken,  we  cannot  help,  if  we  consider, 
feeling  at  once  a  great  difference  between  them  and 
any  hymns  or  religious  poetry  which  is  commonly 
written  or  read  in  these  days.  The  hymns  which 
are  most  liked  now,  and  the  psalms  which  people 
most  willingly  choose  out  of  the  Bible,  are  those 
which  speak,  or  seem  to  speak,  about  God's  deal- 
ings with  people's  own  souls,  while  such  psalms  as 
this  are  overlooked.  People  do  not  care  really 
about  psalms  of  this  kind  when  they  find  them  in 
the  Bible,  and  they  do  not  expect  or  wish  nowa- 
days any  one  to  write  poetry  like  them.  For  these 
psalms  of  which  I  speak  praise  and  honour  God,  not 
2 


10  god's  world.  [sekm. 

for  what  He  has  done  to  our  souls,  but  for  what  He 
has  done  and  is  doing  in  the  world  around  us.  This 
very  104th  psalm,  for  instance,  speaks  entirely  about 
things  which  we  hardly  care  or  even  think  proper 
to  mention  in  church  now.  It  speaks  of  this  earth 
entirely,  and  the  things  on  it.  Of  the  light,  the 
clouds,  and  wind  —  of  hills  and  valleys,  and  the 
springs  on  the  hill-sides — of  wild  beasts  and  birds — 
of  grass  and  corn,  and  wine  and  oil — of  the  sun  and 
moon,  night  and  day — the  great  sea,  the  ships,  and 
the  fishes,  and  all  the  wonderful  and  nameless  crea- 
tures which  people  the  waters — the  very  birds'  nests 
in  the  high  trees,  and  the  rabbits  burrowing  among 
the  rocks — nothing  on  the  earth  but  this  psalm 
thinks  it  worth  mentioning.  And  all  this,  which  one 
would  expect  to  find  only  in  a  book  of  natural  his- 
tory, is  in  the  Bible,  in  one  of  the  psalms,  written 
to  be  sung  in  the  temple  at  Jerusalem,  before  the 
throne  of  the  living  God  and  His  Glory  which  used 
to  be  seen  in  that  temple, — inspired,  as  we  all  believe, 
by  God's  Spirit, — God's  own  word,  in  short:  that  is 
worth  thinking  of.  Surely  the  man  who  wrote  this 
must  have  thought  very  differently  about  this  world, 
with  its  fields  and  woods,  and  beasts  and  birds,  from 
what  we  think.  Suppose,  now,  that  we  had  been 
old  Jews  in  the  temple,  standing  before  the  holy 
house,  and  that  we  believed,  as  the  Jews  believed, 
that  there  was  only  one  thin  wall  and  one  curtain  of 
linen  between  us  and  the  glory  of  the  living  God, 


I.]  god's  world.  11 

that  unspeakable  brightness  and  majesty  which  no 
one  could  look  at  for  fear  of  instant  death,  except 
the  high-priest  in  fear  and  trembling  once  a  year — 
that  inside  that  small  holy  house,  He,  God  Almighty, 
appeared  visibly — God  who  made  heaven  and  earth. 
Suppose  we  had  been  there  in  the  temple,  and  known 
all  this,  should  we  have  liked  to  be  singing  about 
beasts  and  birds,  with  God  Himself  close  to  us  ?  We 
should  not  have  liked  it — we  should  have  been  ter- 
rified, thinking  perhaps  about  our  own  sinfulness, 
perhaps  about  that  wonderful  majesty  which  dwelt 
inside.  We  should  have  wished  to  say  or  sing 
something  spiritual,  as  we  call  it;  at  all  events, 
something  very  different  from  the  104th  psalm  about 
wToods,  and  rivers,  and  dumb  beasts.  We  do  not 
like  the  thought  of  such  a  thing:  it  seems  almost 
irreverent,  almost  impertinent  to  God  to  be  talking 
of  such  things  in  His  presence.  Now  does  this 
show  us  that  we  think  about  this  earth,  and  the 
things  in  it,  in  a  very  different  way  from  those  old 
Jews?  They  thought  it  a  fit  and  proper  thing  to 
talk  about  corn  and  wine  and  oil,  and  cattle  and 
fishes,  in  the  presence  of  Almighty  God,  and  we  do 
not  think  it  fit  and  proper.  We  read  this  psalm 
when  it  comes  in  the  Church-service  as  a  matter  of 
course,  mainly  because  we  do  not  believe  that  God 
is  here  among  us.  We  should  not  be  so  ready  to 
read  it  if  we  thought  that  Almighty  God  was  so 
near  us. 


12  god's  world.  [serm. 

That  is  a  great  difference  between  us  and  the  old 
Jews.  Whether  it  shows  that  we  are  better  or  not 
than  they  were  in  the  main,  I  cannot  tell;  perhaps 
some  of  them  had  such  thoughts  too,  and  said,  "It 
is  not  respectful  to  God  to  talk  about  such  com- 
monplace earthly  things  in  His  presence ;  "  perhaps 
some  of  them  thought  themselves  spiritual  and  pure- 
minded  for  looking  down  on  this  psalm,  and  on 
David  for  writing  it.  Very  likely,  for  men  have 
had  such  thoughts  in  all  ages,  and  will  have  them. 
But  the  man  who  wrote  this  psalm  had  no  such 
thoughts.  He  said  himself,  in  this  same  psalm, 
that  his  words  would  please  God.  Nay,  he  is  not 
speaking  and  preaching  about  God  in  this  psalm,  as 
I  am  now  in  my  sermon,  but  he  is  doing  more;  he 
is  speaking  to  God — a  much  more  solemn  thing  if 
you  will  think  of  it.  He  says,  "0  Lord  my  God, 
Thou  art  become  exceeding  glorious.  Thou  deckest 
Thyself  with  light  as  with  a  garment.  All  the  beasts 
wait  on  Thee;  when  Thou  givest  them  meat  they 
gather  it.  Thou  renewest  the  face  of  the  earth." 
When  he  turns  and  speaks  of  God  as  "He,"  say- 
ing, "He  appointed  the  moon,"  and  so  On,  he  can- 
not help  going  back  to  God,  and  pouring  out  his 
wonder,  and  delight,  and  awe,  to  God  Himself,  as 
we  would  sooner  speak  to  any  one  we  love  and  ho- 
nour than  merely  speak  about  them.  He  cannot 
take  his  mind  off  God.  And  just  at  the  last,  when 
he  does  turn  and  speak  to  himself,  it  is  to  cay, 


i.]  god's  world.  13 

"Praise  thou  the  Lord,  0  my  soul,  praise  the  Lord," 
as  if  rebuking  and  stirring  up  himself  for  being  too 
cold-hearted  and  slow,  for  not  admiring  and  honour- 
ing enough  the  infinite  wisdom,  and  power,  and 
love,  and  glorious  majesty  of  God,  which  to  him 
shines  out  in  every  hedge-side  bird  and  every  blade 
of  grass.  Truly  I  said  that  man  had  a  very  dif- 
ferent way  of  looking  at  God's  earth  from  what  we 
have ! 

Now,  in  what  did  that  difference  lie  ?  What  was 
it?  We  need  not  look  far  to  see.  It  was  this, — 
David  looked  on  the  earth  as  God's  earth;  we  look 
on  it  as  man's  earth,  or  nobody's  earth.  We  know 
that  we  are  here,  with  trees  and  grass,  and  beasts 
and  birds,  round  us.  And  we  know  that  we  did 
not  put  them  here;  and  that,  after  we  are  dead  and 
gone,  they  will  go  on  just  as  they  went  on  before 
we  were  born, — each  tree,  and  flower,  and  animal, 
after  its  kind,  but  we  know  nothing  more.  The 
earth  is  here,  and  we  on  it;  but  who  put  it  there, 
and  why  it  is  there,  and  why  we  are  on  it,  instead 
of  being  anywhere  else,  few  ever  think.  But  to 
David  the  earth  looked  very  different;  it  had  quite 
another  meaning;  it  spoke  to  him  of  God  who  made 
it.  By  seeing  what  this  earth  is  like:  he  saw  what 
God  who  made  it  is  like;  and  we  see  no  such  thing. 
The  earth  ? — we  can  eat  the  corn  and  cattle  on  it,  we 
can  earn  money  by  farming  it,  and  ploughing  and 
digging  it;  and  that  is  all  most  men  know  about  it. 
2* 


14  god's  world.  [serm. 

But  David  knew  something  more — something  which 
made  him  feel  himself  very  weak,  and  yet  very  safe ; 
very  ignorant  and  stupid,  and  yet  honoured  with 
glorious  knowledge  from  God, — something  which 
made  him  feel  that  he  belonged  to  this  world,  and 
must  not  forget  it  or  neglect  it,  that  this  earth  was 
his  lesson-book — this  earth  was  his  work-field;  and 
yet  those  same  thoughts  which  showed  him  how  he 
was  made  for  the  land  round  him,  and  the  land  round 
him  was  made  for  him,  showed  him  also  that  he  be- 
longed to  another  world — a  spirit-world;  showed  him 
that  when  this  world  passed  away  he  should  live  for 
ever;  showed  him  that  while  he  had  a  mortal  body 
he  had  an  immortal  soul  too ;  showed  him  that 
though  his  home  and  business  were  here  on  earth, 
yet  that,  for  that  very  reason,  his  home  and  business 
were  in  heaven,  with  God  who  made  the  earth,  with 
that  blessed  One  of  whom  he  said,  "Thou,  Lord, 
in  the  beginning  hast  laid  the  foundation  of  the 
earth,  and  the  heavens  are  the  work  of  thy  hands. 
They  shall  perish,  but  Thou  shalt  endure;  they  all 
shall  fade  as  a  garment,  and  like  a  vesture  shalt 
Thou  change  them,  and  they  shall  be  changed;  but 
Thou  art  the  same,  and  Thy  years  shall  not  fail. 
The  children  of  Thy  servants  shall  continue,  and 
their  seed  shall  stand  fast  in  Thy  sight."  "As  a 
garment  shalt  Thou  change  them," — ay,  there  was 
David's  secret !  He  saw  that  this  earth  and  skies 
are  God's  garment — the  garment  by  which  we  see 


i.]  god's  world.  15 

God ;  and  that  is  what  our  forefathers  saw  too,  and 
just  what  we  have  forgotten;  but  David  had  not  for- 
gotten it.  Look  at  this  very  104th  psalm  again, 
how  he  refers  every  thing  to  God.  We  say,  "The 
light  shines : "  David  says  something  more ;  he  says, 
"Thou,  0  God,  adornest  Thyself  with  light  as  with 
a  curtain."  Light  is  a  picture  of  God.  "God,"  says 
St.  John,  "is  light,  and  in  Him  is  no  darkness  at 
all."  We  say,  'The  clouds  fly  and  the  wind  blows,'  as 
if  they  went  of  themselves  ;  David  says,  "  God  makes 
the  clouds  His  chariot,  and  walks  upon  the  wings  of 
the  wind."  We  talk  of  the  rich  airs  of  spring,  of  the 
flashing  lightning  of  summer,  as  dead  things;  and 
men  who  call  themselves  wise  say,  that  lightning 
is  only  matter,  —  'We  can  grind  the  like  of  it 
out  of  glass  and  silk,  and  make  lightning  for  our- 
selves in  a  small  way;'  and  so  they  can  in  a  small 
way,  and  in  a  very  small  one:  David  does  not  deny 
that,  but  he  puts  us  in  mind  of  something  in  that 
lightning  and  those  breezes  which  wTe  cannot  make. 
He  says,  God  makes  the  winds  His  angels,  and 
flaming  fire  his  ministers ;  and  St.  Paul  takes  the 
same  text,  and  turns  it  round  to  suit  his  purpose, 
when  he  is  talking  of  the  blessed  angels,  saying, 
'That  text  in  the  104th  Psalm  means  something 
more;  it  means  that  God  makes  His  angels  spirits, 
(that  is  winds)  and  His  ministers  a  flaming  fire.' 
So  showing  us  that  in  those  breezes  there  are 
living  spirits,  that  God's  angels  guide  those  thunder- 


16  GOD'S  WORLD,  [SEEM. 

clouds ;  that  the  roaring  thunderclap  is  a  shock 
in  the  air  truly,  but  that  it  is  something  more — 
that  it  is  the  voice  of  God,  which  shakes  the  cedar- 
trees  of  Lebanon,  and  tears  down  the  thick  bushes, 
and  makes  the  wild  deer  slip  their  young.  So 
we  read  in  the  psalms  in  church;  that  is  David's 
account  of  the  thunder.  I  take  it  for  a  true  account; 
you  may  or  not  as  you  like.  See  again.  Those 
springs  in  the  hill-sides,  how  do  they  come  there? 
6 Rain-water  soaking  and  flowing  out,'  we  say.  True, 
but  David  says  something  more;  he  says,  God  sends 
the  springs,  and  He  sends  them  into  the  rivers  too. 
You  may  say,  'Why,  water  must  run  down  hill,  what 
need  of  God?'  But  suppose  God  had  chosen  that 
water  should  run  w^-hill  and  not  down,  how  would 
it  have  been  then? — Very  different,  I  think.  No; 
He  sends  them;  He  sends  all  things.  Wherever  there 
is  any  thing  useful,  His  Spirit  has  settled  it.  The 
help  that  is  done  on  earth  He  doeth  it  all  Himself. — 
Loving  and  merciful,  —  caring  for  the  poor  dumb 
beasts ! — He  sends  the  springs,  and  David  says,  "All 
the  beasts  of  the  field  drink  thereof."  The  wild 
a  '.rials  in  the  night,  He  cares  for  them  too, — He, 
the  Almighty  God.  We  hear  the  foxes  bark  by 
night,  and  we  think  the  fox  is  hungry,  and  there  it 
ends  with  us;  but  not  with  David:  he  says,  "The 
lions  roaring  after  their  prey  do  seek  their  meat  from 
God,"  —  God,  who  feedeth  the  young  ravens  who 
call  upon  Him.    He  is  a  God !   "He  did  not  make  the 


i.]  god's  world.  17 

world,"  says  a  wise  man,  "  and  then  let  it  spin  round 
His  finger,"  as  we  wind  up  a  watch,  and  then  leave  it 
to  go  of  itself.  No;  "His  mercy  is  over  all  His 
works."  Loving  and  merciful,  the  God  of  nature  is 
the  God  of  grace.  The  same  love  which  chose  us  and 
our  forefathers  for  His  people  while  we  were  yet  dead 
in  trespasses  and  sins;  the  same  only-begotten  Son, 
who  came  down  on  earth  to  die  for  us  poor  wretches 
on  the  cross, — that  same  love,  that  same  power,  that 
same  Word  of  God,  who  made  heaven  and  earth,  looks 
after  the  poor  gnats  in  the  winter  time,  that  they  may 
have  a  chance  of  coming  out  of  the  ground  when  the 
day  stirs  the  little  life  in  them,  and  dance  in  the  sun- 
beam for  a  short  hour  of  gay  life,  before  they  return 
to  the  dust  whence  they  were  made,  to  feed  creatures 
nobler  and  more  precious  than  themselves.  That  is 
all  God's  doing,  all  the  doing  of  Christ,  the  King  of 
the  earth.  "They  wait  on  Him,"  says  David.  The 
beasts,  and  birds,  and  insects,  the  strange  fish,  and 
shells,  and  the  nameless  corals  too,  in  the  deep,  deep 
sea,  who  build  and  build  below  the  waters  for  years 
and  thousands  of  years,  every  little,  tiny  creature 
bringing  his  atom  of  lime  to  add  to  the  great  heap, 
till  their  heap  stands  out  of  the  water  and  becomes 
dry  land ;  and  seeds  float  thither  over  the  wide  waste 
sea,  and  trees  grow  up,  and  birds  are  driven  thither 
by  storms;  and  men  come  by  accident  in  stray  ships, 
and  build,  and  sow,  and  multiply,  and  raise  churches, 
and  worship  the  God  of  heaven,  and  Christ,  the 


18  god's  world.  [seem. 

blessed  One,  —  on  that  new  land  which  the  little 
coral  worms  have  built  up  from  the  deep.  Consider 
that.  Who  sent  them  there?  Who  contrived  that 
those  particular  men  should  light  on  that  new  island 
at  that  especial  time  ?  Who  guided  thither  those 
seeds — those  birds?  Who  gave  those  insects  that 
strange  longing  and  power  to  build  and  build  on 
continually? — Christ,  by  whom  all  things  are  made, 
to  whom  all  power  is  given  in  heaven  and  earth; 
He  and  His  Spirit,  and  none  else.  It  is  when  He 
opens  His  hand,  they  are  filled  with  good.  It  is 
when  He  takes  away  their  breath,  they  die,  and  turn 
again  to  their  dust.  He  lets  His  breath,  His  spirit, 
rp  forth,  and  out  of  that  dead  dust  grow  plants 
and  herbs  afresh  for  man  and  beast,  and  He  renews 
t1  e  face  of  the  earth.  For,  says  the  wise  man,  "  all 
things  are  God's  garment" — outward  and  visible 
signs  of  His  unseen  and  unapproachable  glory;  and 
when  they  are  worn  out,  He  changes  them,  says  the 
Psalmist,  as  a  garment,  and  they  shall  be  changed. 

The  old  order  changes,  giving  place  to  the  new, 
And  God  fulfils  Himself  in  many  ways. 

But  He  is  the  same.  He  is  there  all  the  time — all 
things  are  His  work.  In  all  things  we  may  see 
Him,  if  our  souls  have  eyes.  All  things,  be  they 
what  they  ma}^  which  live  and  grow  on  this  earth, 
or  happen  on  land  or  in  the  sky,  will  tell  us  a  tale 
of  God, — show  forth  some  one  feature,  at  least,  of 
our  blessed  Saviour's  countenance  and  character, — 


i.]  god's  world.  19 

either  His  foresight,  or  His  wisdom,  or  His  order,  or 
His  power,  or  His  love,  or  His  condescension,  or 
His  long-suffering,  or  his  slow,  sure  vengeance  on 
those  who  break  His  laws.  It  is  all  written  there 
outside  in  the  great  green  book,  which  God  hath 
given  to  labouring  men,  and  which  neither  taxes  nor 
tyrants  can  take  from  them.  The  man  who  is  no 
scholar  in  letters  may  read  of  God  as  he  follows 
the  plough,  for  the  earth  he  ploughs  is  his  Father's : 
there  is  God's  mark  and  seal  on  it, — His  name, 
which  though  it  is  written  on  the  dust,  yet  neither 
man  nor  fiend  can  wipe  it  out ! 

The  poor,  solitary,  untaught  boy,  who  keeps  the 
sheep,  or  minds  the  birds,  long  lonely  days,  far  from 
his  mother  and  his  playmates,  may  keep  alive  in  him 
all  purifying  thoughts,  if  he  will  but  open  his  eyes 
and  look  at  the  green  earth  around  him. 

Think  now,  my  boys,  when  you  are  at  your  wort, 
how  all  things  may  put  you  in  mind  of  God,  if  you 
do  but  choose.  The  trees  which  shelter  you  from  the 
wind,  God  planted  them  there  for  your  sakes,  in  His 
love.  —  There  is  a  lesson  about  God.  The  birds 
which  you  drive  off  the  corn,  who  gave  them  the 
sense  to  keep  together  and  profit  by  each  other's 
wit  and  keen  eyesight?  Who  but  God,  who  feeds 
the  young  birds  when  they  call  on  Him? — There  is 
another  lesson  about  God.  The  sheep  whom  you 
follow,  who  ordered  the  warm  wool  to  grow  on  them, 
from  which  your  clothes  are  made?     Who  but  the 


20  god's  world.  [serm.  i. 

Spirit  of  God  above,  who  clothes  the  grass  of  the 
field,  the  silly  sheep,  and  who  clothes  you,  too,  and 
thinks  of  you  when  you  don't  think  of  yourselves  ? 
— There  is  another  lesson  about  God.  The  feeble 
lambs  in  spring,  they  ought  to  remind  you  surely  of 
your  blessed  Saviour,  the  Lamb  of  God,  who  died  for 
you  upon  the  cruel  cross,  who  was  led  as  a  lamb  to 
the  slaughter ;  and  like  a  sheep  that  lies  dumb  and 
patient  under  the  shearer's  hand,  so  he  opened  not 
his  mouth.  Are  not  these  lambs,  then,  a  lesson  from 
God?  And  these  are  but  one  or  two  examples  out  of 
thousands  and  thousands.  Oh,  that  I  could  make 
you,  young  and  old,  all  feel  these  things !  Oh,  that 
I  could  make  you  see  God  in  every  thing,  and  every 
thing  in  God !  Oh,  that  I  could  make  you  look  on 
this  earth,  not  as  a  mere  dull,  dreary  prison,  and 
workhouse  for  your  mortal  bodies,  but  as  a  living 
book,  to  speak  to  you  at  every  time  of  the  living 
God,  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost !  Sure  I  am  that 
that  would  be  a  heavenly  life  for  you, — sure  I  am 
that  it  would  keep  you  from  many  a  sin,  and  stir 
you  up  to  many  a  holy  thought  and  deed,  if  you 
could  learn  to  find  in  every  thing  around  you,  how- 
ever small  or  mean,  the  work  of  God's  hand,  the 
likeness  of  God's  countenance,  the  shadow  of  God's 
glory. 


SERMON  II. 


RELIGION  NOT  GODLINESS. 

"He  watereth  the  hills  from  his  chambers;  the  earth  is  satisfied 
with  the  fruit  of  thy  works.  He  causeth  the  grass  to  grow 
for  the  cattle,  and  herb  for  the  service  of  man:  that  he  may- 
bring  forth  food  out  of  the  earth ;  and  wine  that  maketh  glad 
the  heart  of  man,  and  oil  to  make  his  face  to  shine,  and  bread 
which  strengthened  man's  heart." — Psalm  civ.  13 — 15. 

Did  you  ever  remark,  my  friends,  that  the  Bible 
says  hardly  any  thing  about  religion — that  it  never 
praises  religious  people?  This  is  very  curious. 
Would  to  God  we  would  all  remember  it !  The  Bible 
speaks  of  a  religious  man  only  once,  and  of  religion 
only  twice,  except  where  it  speaks  of  the  Jew's  re- 
ligion to  condemn  it,  and  shows  what  an  empty, 
blind,  useless  thing  it  was. 

What  does  this  Bible  talk  of,  then?  It  talks  of 
God  ;  not  of  religion,  but  of  God.  It  tells  us  not  to 
be  religious,  but  to  be  godly.  You  may  think  there 
is  no  difference,  or  that  it  is  but  a  difference  of  words. 
I  tell  you  that  a  difference  in  words  is  a  very  awful, 
important  difference.  A  difference  in  words  is  a 
3 


22  RELIGION  NOT  GODLINESS.  [SERM. 

difference  in  things.  Words  are  very  awful  and 
wonderful  things,  for  they  come  from  the  most  awful 
and  wonderful  of  all  beings,  Jesus  Christ,  the  Word. 
He  puts  words  into  men's  minds  —  He  made  all 
things,  and  He  makes  all  words  to  express  those 
things  with.  And  wo  to  those  who  use  the  wrong 
words  about  things !  For  if  a  man  calls  any  thing 
by  its  wrong  name,  it  is  a  sure  sign  that  he  under- 
stands that  thing  wrongly,  or  feels  about  it  wrongly ; 
and  therefore  a  man's  words  are  oftener  honester 
than  he  thinks;  for  as  a  man's  words  are,  so  is  a 
man's  heart;  out  of  the  abundance  of  our  hearts 
our  mouths  speak ;  and,  therefore,  by  right  words, 
by  the  right  names  which  wTe  call  things,  we  shall 
be  justified,  and  by  our  words,  by  the  wrong  names 
we  call  things,  we  shall  be  condemned. 

Therefore  a  difference  in  words  is  a  difference 
in  the  things  which  those  words  mean,  and  there 
is  a  difference  between  religion  and  godliness;  and 
we  show  it  by  our  words.  Now  these  are  religious 
times,  but  they  are  very  ungodly  times;  and  we 
show  that  also  by  our  words.  Because  we  think  that 
people  ought  to  be  religious,  we  talk  a  great  deal 
about  religion;  because  we  hardly  think  at  all  that 
a  man  ought  to  be  godly,  we  talk  very  little  about 
God,  and  that  good  old  Bible  word  "godliness" 
does  not  pass  our  lips  once  a  month.  For  a  man 
may  be  very  religious,  my  friends,  and  yet  very 
ungodly.       The  heathens  were  very  religious  at 


II.]  RELIGION  NOT  GODLINESS.  23 

the  very  time  that,  as  St.  Paul  tells  us,  they  would 
not  keep  God  in  their  knowledge.  The  Jews  were 
the  most  religious  people  on  the  earth,  they  hardly 
talked  or  thought  about  anything  but  religion,  at 
the  very  time  that  they  knew  so  little  of  God  that 
they  crucified  Him  when  He  came  down  among 
them.  St.  Paul  says  that  he  was  living  after  the 
strictest  sect  of  the  Jews'  religion,  at  the  very  time 
that  he  was  fighting  against  God,  persecuting  God's 
people  and  God's  Son,  and  dead  in  trespasses  and 
sins.  These  are  ugly  facts,  my  friends,  but  they 
are  true,  and  well  worth  our  laying  to  heart  in  these 
religious,  ungodly  days.  I  am  afraid  if  Jesus  Christ 
came  down  into  England  this  day  as  a  carpenter's 
son  He  would  get — a  better  hearing,  perhaps,  than 
the  Jews  gave  him,  but  still  a  very  bad  hearing — 
one  dare  hardly  think  of  it. 

And  yet  I  believe  we  ought  to  think  of  it,  and, 
by  God's  help,  I  will  one  clay  preach  you  a  sermon, 
asking  you  all  around  this  fair  question : — If  Jesus 
Christ  came  to  you  in  the  shape  of  a  poor  man, 
whom  nobody  knew,  should  you  know  him  ?  should 
you  admire  him,  fall  at  his  feet  and  give  yourself  up 
to  him  body  and  soul?  I  am  afraid  that  I,  for  one, 
should  not — I  am  afraid  that  too  many  of  us  here 
would  not.  That  comes  of  thinking  more  of  reli- 
gion than  we  do  of  godliness — in  plain  words,  more 
of  our  own  souls  than  we  do  of  Jesus  Christ.  But 
you  will  want  to  know  what  is,  after  all,  the  difference 


24  RELIGION  NOT  GODLINESS.  [SERM. 

between  religion  and  godliness?  Just  the  difference, 
my  friends,  that  there  is  between  always  thinking  of 
self  and  always  forgetting  self — between  the  terror 
of  a  slave  and  the  affection  of  a  child — between  the 
fear  of  hell  and  the  love  of  God.  For,  tell  me,  what 
you  mean  by  being  religious?  Do  you  not  mean 
thinking  a  great  deal  about  your  own  souls,  and 
praying  and  reading  about  your  own  souls,  and  try- 
ing by  all  possible  means  to  get  your  own  souls 
saved?  Is  not  that  the  meaning  of  religion?  And 
yet  I  have  never  mentioned  God's  name  in  describing 
it !  This  sort  of  religion  must  have  very  little  to 
do  with  God.  You  may  be  surprised  at  my  words, 
and  say  in  your  hearts  almost  angrily,  'Why,  who 
saves  our  souls  but  God?  therefore  religion  must 
have  to  do  with  God.'  But,  my  friends,  for  your 
souls'  sake,  and  for  God's  sake,  ask  yourselves  this 
question  on  your  knees  this  day: — If  you  could  get 
your  souls  saved  without  God's  help,  would  it  make 
much  difference  to  you?  Suppose  an  angel  from 
heaven,  as  they  say,  was  to  come  down  and  prove  to 
you  clearly  that  there  was  no  God,  no  blessed  Jesus 
in  heaven,  that  the  world  made  itself,  and  went  on 
of  itself,  and  that  the  Bible  was  all  a  mistake,  but 
that  you  need  not  mind,  for  your  gardens  and  crops 
would  grow  just  as  well,  and  your  souls  be  saved 
just  as  well  when  you  died. 

To  how  many  of  you  would  it  make  any  differ- 
ence?     To   some   of  you,  thank    God,  I   believe 


II.]  RELIGION  NOT  GODLINESS.  25 

it  would  make  a  difference.  There  are  some  here, 
I  believe,  who  would  feel  that  news  the  worst  news 
they  ever  heard,  —  worse  than  if  they  were  told 
that  their  souls  were  lost  for  ever ;  there  are  some 
here,  I  do  believe,  who,  at  that  news,  would  cry 
aloud  in  agony,  like  little  children  who  had  lost  their 
father,  and  say,  'No  Father  in  heaven  to  love?  No 
blessed  Jesus  in  heaven  to  work  for,  and  die  for,  and 
glory  and  delight  in  ?  No  God  to  rule  and  manage 
this  poor,  miserable,  quarrelsome  world,  bringing 
good  out  of  evil,  blessing  and  guiding  all  things  and 
people  on  earth?  What  do  I  care  what  becomes  of 
my  soul  if  there  is  no  God  for  my  soul  to  glory 
in?  What  is  heaven  worth  without  God?  God  is 
heaven ! ' 

Yes,  indeed,  what  would  heaven  be  worth  without 
God !  But  how  many  people  feel  that  the  curse  of 
this  day  is,  that  most  people  have  forgotten  that  ? 
They  are  selfishly  anxious  enough  about  their  own 
souls,  but  they  have  forgotten  God.  They  are  reli- 
gious, for  fear  of  hell;  but  they  are  not  godly,  for 
they  do  not  love  God,  or  see  God's  hand  in  every 
thing.  They  forget  that  they  have  a  Father  in  hea- 
ven ;  that  He  sends  rain,  and  sunshine,  and  fruitful 
seasons ;  that  He  gives  them  all  things  richly  to 
enjoy  in  spite  of  all  their  sins.  His  mercies  are  far 
above,  out  of  their  sight,  and  therefore  His  judg- 
ments are  far  away  out  of  their  sight  too ;  and  so  they 
talk  of  the  "  Visitation  of  God,"  as  if  it  was  some- 
3* 


26  RELIGION    NOT    GODLINESS.  [SERM. 

thing  that  was  very  extraordinary,  and  happened 
very  seldom;  and  when  it  came,  only  brought  evil, 
harm,  and  sorrow.  If  a  man  lives  on  in  health,  they 
say  he  lives  by  the  strength  of  his  own  constitution; 
if  he  drops  down  dead,  they  say  he  died  by  "the  visi- 
tation of  God."  If  the  corn- crops  go  on  all  right  and 
safe,  they  think  that  quite  natural — the  effect  of  the 
soil,  and  the  weather,  and  their  own  skill  in  farming 
and  gardening.  But  if  there  comes  a  hailstorm  or  a 
blight,  and  spoils  it  all,  and  brings  on  a  famine,  they 
call  it  at  once  "a  visitation  of  God."  My  friends  ! 
do  you  think  God  "  visits  "  the  earth  or  you  only 
to  harm  you  ?  I  tell  you  that  every  blade  of  grass 
grows  by  "the  visitation  of  God."  I  tell  you  that 
every  Jiealthy  breath  you  ever  drew,  every  cheerful 
hour  you  ever  spent,  every  good  crop  you  ever 
housed  safely,  came  to  you  by  "  the  visitation  of 
God."  I  tell  you  that  every  sensible  thought  or 
plan  that  ever  came  into  your  heads, —every  lov- 
ing, honest,  manly,  womanly  feeling  that  ever  rose 
in  your  hearts,  God  "visited"  you  to  put  it  there. 
If  God's  Spirit  had  not  given  it  you,  you  would 
never  have  got  it  of  yourselves. 

But  people  forget  this,  and  therefore  they  have 
so  little  real  love  to  God — so  little  real,  loyal,  child- 
like trust  in  God.  They  do  not  think  much  about 
God,  because  they  find  no  pleasure  in  thinking  about 
Him ;  they  look  on  God  as  a  taskmaster,  gathering 
where  He  has  not  strewed,  reaping  where  He  has  not 


II.]  RELIGION    NOT    GODLINESS.  27 

sown, — a  task-master  who.  has  put  them,  very  mise- 
rable, sinful  creatures,  to  struggle  on  in  a  very 
miserable,  sinful  world,  and,  though  He  tells  them 
in  His  Bible  that  they  cannot  keep  His  command- 
ments, expects  them  to  keep  them  just  the  same, 
and  will  at  the  last  send  them  all  into  everlasting 
fire,  unless  they  take  a  great  deal  of  care,  and  give 
up  a  great  many  natural  and  pleasant  things,  and 
beseech  and  entreat  Him  very  hard  to  excuse  them, 
after  all.  This  is  the  thought  which  most  people 
have  of  God,  even  religious  people ;  they  look  on 
God  as  a  stern  tyrant,  who,  when  man  sinned  and 
fell,  could  not  satisfy  his  own  justice — His  own  ven- 
geance, in  plain  words,  without  killing  some  one, 
and  who  would  have  certainly  killed  all  mankind,  if 
Jesus  Christ  had  not  interfered,  and  said,  "If  thou 
must  slay  some  one,  slay  me,  though  I  am  innocent." 
Oh,  my  friends,  does  not  this  all  sound  horrible 
and  irreverent?  And  yet  if  you  will  but  look  into 
your  own  hearts,  will  you  not  find  some  such 
thoughts  there?  I  am  sure  you  will.  I  believe 
every  man  finds  such  thoughts  in  his  heart  now  and 
then.  I  find  them  in  my  own  heart)  I  know  that 
they  must  be  in  the  hearts  of  others,  because  I  see 
them  producing  their  natural  fruits  in  people's  ac- 
tions— a  selfish,  slavish  view  of  religion,  with  little 
or  no  real  love  to  God,  or  real  trust  in  Him;  but  a 
great  deal  of  uneasy  dread  of  Him;  for  this  is  just 
the  dark,  false  view  of  God,  and  of  the  good  news 


28  RELIGION    NOT    GODLINESS.  [SERM. 

of  salvation  and  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  which  the 
devil  is  always  trying  to  make  men  take.  The  Evil 
One  tries  to  make  us  forget  that  God  is  love;  he 
tries  to  make  us  forget  that  God  gives  us  all  things 
richly  to  enjoy ;  he  tries  to  make  us  forget  that  God 
gives  at  all,  and  to  make  us  think  that  we  take,  not 
that  He  gives ;  to  make  us  look  at  God  as  a  task- 
master, not  as  a  father;  in  one  word,  to  make  us 
mistake  the  devil  for  God,  and  God  for  the  devil. 

And,  therefore,  it  is  that  we  ought  to  bless  God 
for  such  scriptures  as  this  104th  Psalm,  which  He 
seems  to  have  preserved  in  the  Bible  just  to  contra- 
dict these  dark,  slavish  notions, — just  to  testify  that 
God  is  a  giver,  and  knows  our  necessities  before  we 
ask  and  gives  us  all  things,  even  as  He  gave  us  His 
Blessed  Son — freely,  long  before  we  wanted  them, 
from  the  foundation  of  all  things,  before  ever  the 
earth  and  the  world  was  made — from  all  eternity, 
perpetual  love,  perpetual  bounty. 

What  does  this  text  teach  us?  To  look  at  God 
as  Him  who  gives  to  all  freely  and  upbraideth  not. 
It  says  to  us, — Do  not  suppose  that  your  crops  grow 
of  themselves.  God  waters  the  hills  from  above. 
He  causes  the  grass  to  grow  for  the  cattle,  and  the 
green  herb  for  the  service  of  man.  Do  not  sup- 
pose that  He  cares  nothing  about  seeing  you  com- 
fortable and  happy.  It  is  He,  He  only  who  sends 
all  which  strengthens  man's  body,  and  makes  glad 
his  heart,  and  makes  him  of  a  cheerful  countenance. 


J.]  RELIGION   XOT    GODLINESS.  29 

His  will  is  that  you  should  be  cheerful.  Ah,  my 
friends,  if  we  would  but  believe  all  this! — we  are  too 
apt  to  say  to  ourselves,  '  Our  earthly  comforts  here 
have  nothing  to  do  with  godliness  or  God,  God  must 
save  our  souls,  but  our  bodies  we  must  save  our- 
selves. God  gives  us  spiritual  blessings,  but  earth- 
ly blessings,  the  good  things  of  this  life,  for  them 
we  must  scramble  and  drudge  ourselves,  and  get, 
as  much  of  them  as  we  can  without  offending  God;' 
— as  if  God  grudged  us  our  comforts  !  as  if  godliness 
had  not  the  promise  of  this  life,  as  well  as  the  life 
to  come!  If  we  would  but  believe  that  God  knows 
our  necessities  before  we  ask — that  He  gives  us 
daily  more  than  we  can  ever  get  by  working  for  it! 
— if  we  would  but  seek  first  the  kingdom  of  God 
and  His  righteousness,  all  other  things  would  be 
added  to  us ;  and  we  should  find  that  he  who  loses 
his  life  should  save  it.  And  this  way  of  looking  at 
God's  earth  would  not  make  us  idle ;  it  would  not 
tempt  us  to  sit  with  folded  hands  for  God's  blessings 
to  drop  into  our  mouths.  No !  I  believe  it  would 
make  men  far  more  industrious  than  ever  mere  self- 
interest  can  make  them;  they  would  say,  'God  is 
our  Father,  He  gave  us  His  own  Son,  He  gives  us 
all  things  freely,  we  owe  Him  not  slavish  service, 
but  a  boundless  debt  of  cheerful  gratitude.  There- 
fore we  must  do  His  will,  and  we  are  sure  His  will 
must  be  our  happiness  and  comfort — therefore  we 
must  do  His  will,  and  His  will  is  that  we  should 


30  RELIGION   NOT   GODLINESS.  [SERM. 

work,  and  therefore  we  must  work.  He  has  bid- 
den us  labour  on  this  earth — He  has  bidden  us  dress 
it  and  keep  it,  conquer  it  and  fill  it  for  Him.  We 
are  His  stewards  here  on  earth,  and  therefore  it  is 
a  glory  and  an  honour  to  be  allowed  to  work  here 
in  God's  own  land — in  our  loving  Father's  own 
garden.  We  do  not  know  why  He  wishes  us  to 
labour  and  till  the  ground,  for  He  could  have  fed 
us  with  manna  from  heaven  if  He  liked,  as  He  fed 
the  Jews  of  old,  without  our  working  at  all.  But 
His  will  is  that  we  should  work ;  and  work  we  will, 
not  for  our  own  sakes  merely,  but  for  His  sake  be- 
cause we  know  He  likes  it,  and  for  the  sake  of  our 
brothers,  our  countrymen,  for  whom  Christ  died. 

Oh,  my  friends,  why  is  it  that  so  many  till  the 
ground  industriously,  and  yet  grow  poorer  and 
poorer  for  all  their  drudging  and  working?  It  is 
their  own  fault.  They  till  the  ground  for  their 
own  sakes,  and  not  for  God's  sake  and  for  their 
countrymen's  sake;  and  so,  as  the  Prophet  says, 
they  sow  much  and  bring  in  little,  and  he  who  earns 
wages,  earns  them  to  put  in  a  bag  full  of  holes. 
Suppose  you  try  the  opposite  plan.  Suppose  you 
say  to  yourself,  'I  will  work  henceforward  because 
God  wishes  me  to  work.  I  will  work  henceforward 
for  my  country's  sake,  because  I  feel  that  God  has 
given  me  a  noble  and  a  holy  calling  when  He  set 
m'e  to  grow  food  for  His  children,  the  people  of 
England.    As  for  my  wages  and  my  profit,  God  will 


II.]  RELIGION  NOT  GODLINESS.  31 

take  care  of  them  if  they  are  just ;  and  if  they  are 
unjust,  He  will  take  care  of  them  too.  He,  at  all 
events,  makes  the  garden  and  the  field  grow,  and 
not  I.  My  land  is  filled,  not  with  the  fruit  of  my 
work,  but  with  the  fruit  of  His  work.  He  will  see 
that  I  lose  nothing  by  my  labour.  If  I  till  the  soil 
for  God  and  for  God's  children,  I  may  trust  God  to 
pay  me  my  wages.'  Oh,  my  friends,  He  who  feeds 
the  young  birds  when  they  call  upon  Him;  and  far, 
far  more,  He  who  gave  you  His  only-begotten  Son, 
will  He  not  with  Him  freely  give  you  all  things? 
For,  after  all  done,  He  must  give  to  you,  or  you  will 
not  get.  You  may  fret  and  stint,  and  scrape  and 
puzzle;  one  man  may  sow,  and  another  man  may 
water ;  but,  after  all,  who  can  give  the  increase  but 
God?  Can  you  make  a  load  of  hay,  unless  He  has 
first  grown  it  for  you,  and  then  dried  it  for  you? 
If  you  would  but  think  a  little  more  about  Him,  if 
you  would  believe  that  your  crops  were  His  gifts, 
and  in  your  hearts  offer  them  up  to  Him  as  thank- 
offerings,  see  if  He  would  not  help  you  to  sell  your 
crops  as  well  as  to  house  them.  He  would  put  you 
in  a  way  of  an  honest  profit  for  your  labour,  just 
as  surely  as  He  only  put  you  in  the  way  of  labouring 
at  all.  "Trust  in  the  Lord,  and  be  doing  good; 
dwell  in  the  land,  and  verily  thou  shalt  be  fed;" 
for  "without  me,"  says  our  Lord,  "you  can  do 
nothing."  ISo:  these  are  His  own  words — nothing. 
To  Him  all  power  is  given  in  heaven  and  earth;  He 


32     '  RELIGION  NOT   GODLINESS.  [SERM.  II. 

knows  every  root  and  every  leaf,  and  feeds  it.  Will 
He  not  much  more  feed  you,  oh  ye  of  little  faith? 
Do  you  think  that  He  has  made  His  world  so  ill  that 
a  man  cannot  get  on  in  it  unless  he  is  a  rogue? 
No.  Cast  all  your  care  on  Him,  and  see  if  you  do 
not  find  out  ere  long  that  He  cares  for  you,  and  has 
cared  for  you  from  all  eternity. 


SERMON  III, 


LIFE  AND  DEATH. 

"0  Lord,  how  manifold  are  Thy  works!  in  wisdom  hast  Thou 
made  them  all :  the  earth  is  full  of  Thy  riches.  That  Thou 
givest  them  they  gather :  Thou  openest  Thine  hand,  they  are 
filled  with  good.  Thou  hidest  Thy  face,  they  are  troubled: 
Thou  takest  away  their  breath,  they  die,  and  return  to  their 
dust.  Thou  sendest  forth  Thy  Spirit,  they  are  created:  and 
Thou  renewest  the  face  of  the  earth."— Psalm  civ.  24,  28—30. 

I  had  intended  to  go  through  this  psalm  with 
you  in  regular  order;  but  things  have  happened 
in  this  parish  awful  and  sad,  during  the  last  week, 
which  I  was  bound  not  to  let  slip  without  trying 
to  bring  them  home  to  your  hearts,  if  by  any  means 
I  could  persuade  the  thoughtless  ones  among  you 
to  be  wise  and  consider  your  latter  end: — I  mean 
the  sad  deaths  of  various  of  our  acquaintances. 
The  death-bell  has  been  tolled  in  this  parish  three 
times,  I  believe,  in  one  day — a  thing  which  has 
seldom  happened  before,  and  which  God  grant  may 
never  happen  again.  Within  two  miles  of  this 
church  there  are  now  five  lying  dead.  Five  human 
beings,  young  as  well  as  old,  to  whom  the  awful 
4 


34  LIFE  AND  DEATH.  [SERM. 

words  of  the  text  have  been  fulfilled :  "  Thou  takest 
away  their  breath,  they  die,  and  return  to  their 
dust."  And  the  very  day  on  which  three  of  these 
deaths  happened  was  Ascension-clay — the  day  on 
which  Jesus,  the  Lord  of  life,  the  Conqueror  of 
death,  ascended  upon  high,  having  led  captivity  cap- 
tive, and  became  the  first-fruits  of  the  grave,  to 
send  down  from  the  heaven  of  eternal  life  the  Spirit 
who  is  the  Giver  of  life.  That  was  a  strange  mix- 
ture, death  seemingly  triumphant  over  Christ's 
people  on  the  very  day  on  which  life  triumphed  in 
Jesus  Christ  Himself.  Let  us  see,  though,  whether 
death  has  not  something  to  do  with  Ascension-day. 
Let  us  see,  whether  a  sermon  about  death  is  not  a 
fit  sermon  for  the  Sunday  after  Ascension-day. 
Let  us  see  whether  the  text  has  not  a  message  about 
life  and  death  too — a  message  which  may  make  us 
feel  that  in  the  midst  of  life  we  are  in  death,  and 
that  yet  in  the  midst  of  death  we  are  in  life;  that 
however  things  may  seem,  yet  death  has  not  con- 
quered life,  but  life  has  conquered  and  will  con- 
quer death,  and  conquer  it  most  completely  at  the 
very  moment  that  we  die,  and  our  bodies  return 
to  their  dust. 

Do  I  speak  riddles?  I  think  the  text  will  ex- 
plain my  riddles,  for  it  tells  us  how  life  comes,  how 
death  comes.  Life  comes  from  God:  He  sends 
forth  His  Spirit,  and  things  are  made,  and  He  re- 
news the  face  of  the  earth.     We  read  in  the  very 


III.]  LIFE  AND  DEATH.  35 

first  two  verses  of  the  book  of  Genesis  how  the 
Spirit  of  God  moved  upon  the  face  of  the  waters 
at  the  creation,  and  woke  all  things  into  life. 
Therefore  the  Creed  well  calls  the  Holy  Ghost,  the 
Spirit  of  God,  that  is — the  Lord  and  Giver  of  life. 
And  the  text  tells  us  that  He  gives  life,  not  only 
to  us  who  have  immortal  souls,  but  to  every  thing 
on  the  face  of  the  earth;  for  the  psalm  has  been 
talking  all  through,  not  only  of  men,  but  of  beasts, 
fishes,  trees,  and  rivers,  and  rocks,  sun  and  moon. 
Now,  all  these  things  have  a  life  in  them.  Not  a 
life  like  ours ;  but  still  you  speak  rightly  and  wisely 
when  you  say,  'That  tree  is  alive,  and,  That  tree 
is  dead.  That  running  water  is  live  water — it  is 
sweet  and  fresh,  but  if  it  is  kept  standing  it  begins 
to  putrefy,  its  life  is  gone  from  it,  and  a  sort  of 
death  comes  over  it,  and  makes  it  foul,  and  unwhole- 
some, and  unfit  to  drink.'  This  is  a  deep  matter, 
this,  how  there  is  a  sort  of  life  in  every  thing,  even 
to  the  stones  under  our  feet.  I  do  not  mean,  of 
course,  that  stones  can  think  as  our  life  makes  us 
do,  or  feel  as  the  beasts'  life  makes  them  do,  or  even 
grow  as  the  trees'  life  makes  them  do;  but  I  mean 
that  their  life  keeps  them  as  they  are,  without 
changing  or  decaying.  You  hear  miners  and  quar- 
rymen  talk  very  truly  of  the  live  rock.  That  stone, 
they  say,  was  cut  out  of  the  live  rock,  meaning 
the  rock  as  it  is  under  ground,  sound  and  hard 
— as  it  would  be,  for  aught  we  know,  to  the  end  of 


36  LIFE  AND  DEATH.  [SERM. 

time,  unless  it  was  taken  out  of  the  ground,  out  of 
the  place  where  God's  Spirit  meant  it  to  be,  and 
brought  up  to  the  open  air  and  the  rain,  in  which  it 
is  not  its  nature  to  be.  And  then  you  will  see  that 
the  life  of  the  stone  begins  to  pass  from  it  bit  by 
bit,  that  it  crumbles  and  peels  away,  and,  in  short, 
decays  and  is  turned  again  to  its  dust.  Its  organi- 
zation, as  it  is  called,  or  life,  ends,  and  then — what? 
does  the  stone  lie  for  ever  useless?  No!  And 
there  is  the  great  blessed  mystery  of  how  God's 
Spirit  is  always  bringing  life  out  of  death.  "When 
the  stone  is  decayed  and  crumbled  down  to  dust 
and  clay,  it  makes  soil — this  very  soil  here,  which 
you  plough,  is  the  decayed  ruins  of  ancient  hills; 
the  clay  which  you  dig  up  in  the  fields  was  once  part 
of  some  slate  or  granite  mountains  which  were  worn 
away  by  weather  and  water,  that  they  might  become 
fruitful  earth.  Wonderful !  but  any  one  who  has 
studied  these  things  can  tell  you  they  are  true.  Any 
one  who  has  ever  lived  in  mountainous  countries 
ought  to  have  seen  the  thing  happen,  ought  to  know 
that  the  land  in  the  mountain  valleys  is  made  at 
first,  and  kept  rich  year  by  year,  by  the  washings 
from  the  hills  above;  and  this  is  the  reason  why  land 
left  dry  by  rivers  and  by  the  sea  is  generally  so  rich. 
Then  what  becomes  of  the  soil?  It  begins  a  new 
life.  The  roots  of  the  plants  take  it  up;  the  salts 
which  they  find  in  it — the  staple,  as  we  call  them — 
go  to  make  leaves  and  seed;  the  very  sand  has  its 


III.]  LIFE  AND  DEATH.  37 

use,  it  feeds  the  stalks  of  corn  and  grass,  and  makes 
them  stiff.  The  corn-stalks  would  never  stand  up- 
right if  they  could  not  get  sand  from  the  soil.  So 
what  a  thousand  years  ago  made  part  of  a  mountain, 
now  makes  part  of  a  wheat  plant;  and  in  a  year 
more  the  wheat  grain  will  have  been  eaten,  and  the 
wheat  straw  perhaps  eaten  too,  and  they  will  have 
died — decayed  in  the  bodies  of  the  animals  who  have 
eaten  them,  and  then  they  will  begin  a  third  new 
life — they  will  be  turned  into  parts  of  the  animal's 
body— of  a  man's  body.  So  that  what  is  now  your 
bone  and  flesh,  may  have  been  once  a  rock  on  some 
hill-side  a  hundred  miles  away. 

Strange,  but  true !  all  learned  men  know  that  it 
is  true.  You,  if  you  think  over  my  words,  may  see 
that  they  are  at  least  reasonable.  But  still  most 
wonderful !  This  word  works  right  well,  surely.  It 
obeys  God's  Spirit.  Oh,  my  friends,  if  we  fulfilled 
our  life  and  our  duty  as  well  as  the  clay  which  we 
tread  on  does, — if  we  obeyed  God's  Spirit  as  surely 
as  the  flint  does,  we  should  have  many  a  heartache 
spared  us,  and  many  a  headache  too !  To  be 
what  God  wants  us! — to  be  men,  to  be  women, 
and  therefore  to  live  as  children  of  God,  members 
of  Christ,  fulfilling  our  duty  in  that  state  to  which 
God  has  called  us,  that  would  be  our  bliss  and  glory. 
Nothing  can  live  in  a  state  in  which  God  did 
not  intend  it  to  live.  Suppose  a  tree  could  move 
itself  about  like  an  animal,  and  chose  to  do  so, 
4* 


38  LIFE  AND  DEATH.  [SERM. 

the  tree  would  wither  and  die;  it  would  be  trying 
to  act  contrary  to  the  law  which  God  has  given  it. 
Suppose  the  ox  chose  to  eat  meat  like  the  lion, 
it  would  fall  sick  and  die;  for  it  would  be  acting 
contrary  to  the  law  which  God's  Spirit  had  made 
for  it — going  out  of  the  calling  to  which  God's 
Word  has  called  it,  to  eat  grass  and  not  flesh,  and 
live  thereby.  And  so  with  us:  if  we  will  do  wicked- 
ly, when  the  will  of  God,  as  the  Scripture  tells 
us,  is  our  sanctification,  our  holiness;  if  wre  will 
speak  lies,  when  God's  law  for  us  is  that  we  should 
speak  truth;  if  we  will  bear  hatred  and  ill-will, 
when  God's  law  for  us  is,  Love  as  brothers, — you 
all  sprang  from  one  father,  Adam, — you  were  all 
redeemed  by  one  brother,  Jesus  Christ;  if  we  will 
try  to  live  as  if  there  was  no  God,  when  God's 
law  for  us  is,  that  a  man  can  live  like  a  man  only  by 
faith  and  trust  in  God; — then  we  shall  die,  if  we 
break  God's  laws  according  to  which  he  intended 
man  to  live.  Thus  it  was  with  Adam ;  God  intended 
him  to  obey  God,  to  learn  every  thing  from  God. 
He  chose  to  disobey  God,  to  try  and  know  some- 
thing of  himself,  by  getting  the  knowledge  of  good 
and  evil;  and  so  death  passed  on  him.  He  became 
an  unnatural  man,  a  bad  man,  more  or  less,  and  so 
he  became  a  dead  man;  and  death  came  into  the 
world,  that  time  at  least,  by  sin,  by  breaking  the 
law  by  which  man  was  meant  to  be  a  man.  As  the 
beasts  will  die  if  you  give  them  unnatural  food,  or 


III.]  LIFE  AND  DEATH.  89 

in  any  way  prevent  their  following  the  laws  which 
God  has  made  for  them,  so  man  dies,  of  necessity. 
all  the  world  cannot  help  his  dying  because  he 
breaks  the  laws  which  God  has  made  for  him. 

And  how  does  he  die?  The  text  tells  us,  God 
takes  away  his  breath,  and  turns  His  face  from  him. 
In  his  presence,  it  is  written,  is  life.  The  moment 
He  withdraws  his  Spirit,  the  Spirit  of  life,  from 
any  thing,  body  or  soul,  then  it  dies.  It  was  by 
sin  came  death — by  man's  becoming  unfit  for  the 
Spirit  of  God. 

Therefore  the  body  is  dead  because  of  sin,  says 
St.  Paul,  doomed  to  die,  carrying  about  in  it  the 
seeds  of  death  from  the  very  moment  it  is  born. 
Death  has  truly  passed  upon  all  men ! 

Most  sad;  and  yet  there  is  hope,  and  more  than 
hope,  there  is  certain  assurance,  for  us,  that  though 
we  die,  yet  shall  we  live !  I  have  shown  you,  in  the 
beginning  of  my  sermon,  how  nothing  that  dies 
perishes  to  nothing,  but  begins  a  new  and  a  higher 
life.  How  the  stone  becomes  a  plant, — something 
better  and  more  useful  than  it  was  before ;  the  plant 
passes  into  an  animal — a  step  higher  still.  And, 
therefore,  we  may  be  sure  that  the  same  rule  will 
hold  good  about  us  men  and  women,  that  when  we 
die,  we  shall  begin  a  new  and  a  nobler  life,  that  is, 
if  we  have  been  true  men;  if  we  have  lived  fulfilling 
the  law  of  our  kind.  St.  Paul  tells  us  so  positively. 
He  says  that  nothing  comes  to  life  except  it  first 


40  LIFE  AND    DEATH.  [SEEM. 

die,  then  God  gives  it  a  new  body.  He  says  that 
even  so  is  the  resurrection  of  the  dead, — that  we 
gain  a  step  by  dying;  that  we  are  sown  in  corrup- 
tion, and  are  raised  in  incorruption ;  we  are  sown 
in  dishonour,  and  are  raised  in  glory ;  we  are  sown 
in  weakness,  and  are  raised  in  power;  we  are  sown 
a  natural  body,  and  are  raised  a  spiritual  body ; 
that  as  we  now  are  of  the  earth  earthly,  after  death 
and  the  resurrection  our  new  and  nobler  body  will 
be  of  the  heavens  heavenly;  so  that  "when  this 
corruptible  shall  have  put  on  incorruption,  and  this 
mortal  shall  have  put  on  immortality,  then  death 
shall  be  swallowed  up  in  victory."  Therefore,  I  say, 
Sorrow  not  for  those  who  sleep  as  if  you  had  no 
hope  for  the  dead;  for  "Christ  is  risen  from  the 
dead,  and  become  the  first-fruits  of  them  that  slept. 
For  as  in  Adam  all  die,  even  so  in  Christ  shall  all 
be  made  alive." 

And  I  say  that  this  has  to  do  with  the  text — it 
has  to  do  with  Ascension-day.  For  if  we  claim  our 
share  in  Christ, — if  we  claim  our  share  of  our 
heavenly  Father's  promise,  "to  give  the  Holy  Spirit 
to  those  who  ask  Him;"  then  we  may  certainly  hope 
for  our  share  in  Christ's  resurrection,  our  share  in 
Christ's  ascension.  For  says  St.  Paul  (Rom.  viii. 
10,  11,)  "if  Christ  be  in  you,  the  body  is  dead 
because  of  sin,  but  the  Spirit  is  life  because  of 
righteousness.  But  if  the  Spirit  of  Him  who  raided 
up  Jesus  from  the  dead  dwell  in  you,  He  that  raised 


IIT.]  LIFE  AND  DEATH.  41 

up  Christ  from  the  dead  shall  also  quicken  your 
mortal  bodies,  by  His  Spirit  that  dwelleth  in  you!" 
There  is  a  blessed  promise  !  that  in  that,  as  in  every 
thing,  we  shall  be  made  like  Christ  our  Master,  the 
new  Adam,  who  is  a  life-giving  Spirit,  that  as  He 
was  brought  to  life  again  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  so 
we  shall  be.  And  so  will  be  fulfilled  in  us  the  glo- 
rious rule  which  the  text  lays  down,  "  Thou,  0  God, 
sendest  forth  Thy  Spirit,  and  they  are  created,  and 
Thou  dost  renew  the  face  of  the  earth."  Fulfilled? 
— yes,  but  far  more  gloriously  than  ever  the  old 
Psalmist  expected.  Read  the  Revelation  of  St. 
John,  chapters  xxi.  and  xxii.  for  the  glory  of  the 
renewed  earth;  read  the  first  Epistle  of  Paul  to  the 
Thessalonians,  chap  iv.  16-18,  for  the  glorious  resur- 
rection and  ascension  of  those  who  have  died  trust- 
ing in  the  blessed  Lord,  who  died  for  them ;  and  then 
see  what  a  glorious  future  lies  before  us — see  how 
death  is  but  the  gate  of  life — see  how  what  holds  true 
of  every  thing  on  this  earth,  down  to  the  flint  be- 
neath our  feet,  holds  true  ten  thousand  times  of  men 
— that  to  die  and  to  decay  is  only  to  pass  into  a 
nobler  state  of  life.  But  remember,  that  just  as  we 
are  better  than  the  stone,  we  may  be  also  worse  than 
the  stone.  It  cannot  disobey  God's  laws,  therefore 
it  can  enjoy  no  reward,  any  more  than  suffer  any 
punishment.  We  can  disobey — we  can  fall  from 
our  calling — we  can  cast  God's  law  behind  us — 
we  can  refuse  to  do  His  will,  to  work  out  our  own 


42  LIFE  AND  DEATH.  [SERM.  III. 

salvation ;  and  just  because  our  reward  in  the  life 
to  come  will  be  so  glorious,  if  we  fulfil  our  life  and 
law,  the  life  of  faith  and  the  law  of  love,  therefore 
will  our  punishment  be  so  horrible,  if  we  neglect  the 
life  of  faith  and  trample  under  foot  the  law  of  love. 
Oh,  my  friends,  choose!  Death  is  before  you  all. 
Shall  it  be  the  gate  of  everlasting  life  and  gh  ry,  or 
the  gate  of  everlasting  death  and  misery  ?  Wi  il  you 
claim  your  glorious  inheritance,  and  be  for  ever 
equal  to  the  angels,  doing  God's  will  on  earth  as 
they  in  heaven;  or  will  you  fall  lower  than  the 
stones,  who,  at  all  events,  must  do  their  duty  as 
stones,  and  not  do  God's  will  at  all,  but  only  suffer 
it  in  eternal  wo?  You  must  do  one  or  the  other. 
You  cannot  be  like  the  stones,  without  feeling — 
without  joy  or  sorrow,  just  because  you  are  immortal 
spirits,  every  one  of  you.  Yrou  must  be  either  happy 
or  miserable,  blessed  or  disgraced,  for  ever.  I  know 
of  no  middle  path; — do  you?  Choose  before  the 
night  comes,  in  which  no  man  can  work.  Our  life  is 
but  a  vapour  which  appears  for  a  little  time,  then 
vanishes  away.  "0  Lord,  how  manifold  are  Thy 
works  !  in  wisdom  hast  Thou  made  them  all :  the  earth 
is  full  of  Thy  riches.  That  thou  givest  them  they 
gather :  Thouopenest  Thine  hand,  they  are  filled  with 
good.  Thou  hidest  Thy  face,  they  are  troubled : 
Thoutakest  away  their  breath,  they  die  and  return  to 
their  dust.  Thou  sendest  forth  Thy  Spirit,  they  are 
created:  and  Thou  renewest  the  face  of  the  earth." 


SERMON   IV 


THE  WORK  OF  GOD'S  SPIRIT. 

"Do  not  err,  my  beloved  brethren ;  every  good  gift  and  every 
perfect  gift  is  from  above,  and  cometh  down  from  the  Father 
of  lights." — James,  i.  16,  17. 

This  text,  I  believe  more  and  more  every  day,  is 
one  of  the  most  important  ones  in  the  whole  Bible ; 
and  just  at  this  time  it  is  more  important  for  us 
than  ever,  because  people  have  forgotten  it  more 
than  ever. 

And,  according  as  you  firmly  believe  this  text, 
according  as  you  firmly  believe  that  every  good  gift 
you  have  in  body  and  soul  comes  down  from  above, 
from  God  the  Father  of  lights — according,  I  say, 
as  you  believe  this,  and  live  upon  that  belief,  just 
so  far  will  you  be  able  to  do  your  duty  to  God  and 
man  worthily  of  your  blessed  Saviour's  calling  and 
redemption,  and  of  the  high  honour  which  He  has 
given  you  of  being  free  and  christened  men,  re- 
deemed by  His  most  precious  blood,  and  led  by 
His  most  noble  Spirit. 


44  THE  WORK  OF  GOD'S  SPIRIT.  [SERM. 

Now,  just  because  this  text  is  so  important,  the 
devil  is  particularly  busy  in  trying  to  make  people 
forget  it.  For  what  is  his  plan?  Is  it  not  to  make 
us  forget  God,  to  put  God  out  of  all  our  thoughts, 
to  make  us  acknowledge  God  in  none  of  our  ways, 
to  make  us  look  at  ourselves  and  not  at  God,  that 
so  we  may  become  first  earthly  and  sensual,  and  then 
devilish,  like  Satan  himself?  Therefore  he  tries  to 
make  us  disbelieve  this  text.  He  puts  into  our 
hearts  such  thoughts  as  these  :■ — Ay,  all  good  gifts 
may  come  from  God;  but  that  only  means  all  spi- 
ritual gifts.  All  those  fine,  deep  doctrines  and 
wonderful  feelings  that  some  very  religious  people 
talk  of,  about  conversion,  and  regeneration,  and 
salification,  and  assurance,  and  the  witness  of  the 
indwelling  Spirit, — all  those  gifts  come  from  God, 
no  doubt,  but  they  are  quite  above  us.  We  are 
straightforward,  simple  people,  who  cannot  feel 
fine  fancies;  if  we  can  be  honest,  and  industrious, 
and  good-natured,  and  sober,  and  strong,  and 
healthy,  that  is  enough  for  us, — and  all  that  has 
nothing  to  do  with  religion.  Those  are  not  gifts 
which  come  from  God.  A  man  is  strong  and 
healthy  by  birth,  and  honest  and  good-natured  by 
nature.  Those  are  very  good  things;  but  they  are 
not  gifts — they  are  not  graces — they  are  not  spi- 
ritual blessings — they  have  nothing  to  do  with  the 
state  of  a  man's  soul.  Ungodly  people  are  honest, 
and  good-tempered,  and  industrious,  and  healthy, 


IV.]  THE  WORK  OF  GOD'S  SPIRIT.  45 

as  well  as  your  saints  and  your  methodists;  so  what 
is  the  use  of  praying  for  spiritual  gifts  to  God,  when 
we  can  have  all  we  want  by  nature  ?  ■ 

Did  such  thoughts  never  come  into  your  head, 
my  friends?  Are  they  not  often  in  your  heads,  more 
or  less?  Perhaps  not  in  these  very  words,  but  some- 
thing like  them. 

I  do  not  say  it  to  blame  you,  for  I  believe  that 
every  man,  each  according  to  his  station,  is  tempted 
to  such  thoughts ;  I  believe  that  such  thoughts  are 
not  yours  or  any  man's;  I  believe  they  are  the 
devil's,  who  tempts  all  men,  who  tempted  even 
the  Son  of  God  Himself  with  thoughts  like  these  at 
their  root.  Such  thoughts  are  not  yours  or  mine, 
though  they  may  come  into  our  heads.  They 
are  part  of  the  evil  which  besets  us — which  is  not 
us — which  has  no  right  or  share  in  us — which  we 
pray  God  to  drive  away  from  us  when  we  say, 
"Deliver  us  from  evil. "  Have  you  not  all  had  such 
thoughts?  But  have  you  not  all  had  very  different 
thoughts?  have  you  not,  every  one  of  you,  at  times, 
felt  in  the  bottom  of  your  hearts,  after  all,  '  This 
strength  and  industry,  this  courage,  and  honesty, 
and  good-nature  of  mine,  must  come  from  God ;  I 
did  not  get  them  myself?  If  I  was  born  honest, 
and  strong,  and  gentle,  and  brave,  some  one  must 
have  made  me  so  when  I  was  born,  or  before  ?  The 
devil  certainly  did  not  make  me  so,  therefore  God 
must?  These,  too,  are  His  gifts.' 
5 


46  THE  WORK  OF  GOD'S  SPIRIT.  [SERM. 

Did  you  ever  think  such  thoughts  as  these?  If 
you  did  not,  not  much  matter,  for  you  have  all 
acted,  more  or  less,  in  your  better  moments  as  if 
you  had  them.  There  are  more  things  in  a  man's 
heart,  thank  God,  than  ever  come  into  his  head. 
Many  a  man  does  a  noble  thing  by  instinct,  as  we 
say,  without  ever  thinking  whether  it  is  a  noble 
thing  or  not — without  thinking  about  it  at  all. 
Many  a  man,  thank  God,  is  led  at  times,  by  God's 
Spirit  without  ever  knowing  whose  Spirit  it  is  that 
leads  him. 

But  he  ought  to  know  it,  for  it  is  willing,  reason- 
able service  which  God  wants  of  us.  He  does  not 
care  to  use  us  like  tools  and  puppets.  And  why? 
He  is  not  merely  our  Maker,  He  is  our  Father, 
and  He  wishes  us  to  know  and  feel  that  we  are  His 
children — to  know  and  feel  that  we  all  have  come 
from  Him;  to  acknowledge  Him  in  all  our  ways, 
to  thank  Him  for  all,  to  look  up  lovingly  and  con- 
fidently to  Him  for  more,  as  His  reasonable  child- 
ren; day  by  day,  and  hour  by  hour.  Every  good 
gift  we  have  comes  from  Him ;  but  He  will  have 
us  know  where  they  all  come  from. 

Let  us  go  through  now  a  few  of  these  good  gifts, 
which  we  call  natural,  and  see  what  the  Bible  says 
of  them,  and  from  whom  they  come. 

First,  now,  that  common  gift  of  strength  and  cou- 
rage. Who  gives  you  that? — who  gave  it  David?  For 
He  that  gives  it  to  one  is  most  likely  to  be  He  that 


IV.]  THE  WORK  OF  GOD'S  SPIRIT.  47 

gives  it  to  another.  David  says  to  God,  "  Thou  teach- 
est  my  hands  to  war,  and  my  fingers  to  fight ;  by  the 
help  of  God  I  can  leap  over  a  wall:  He  makes  me 
strong,  that  my  arms  can  break  even  a  bow  of  steel :" 
— that  is  plain-spoken  enough,  I  think.  Who  gave 
Samson  his  strength,  again  ?  What  says  the  Bible  ? 
How  Samson  met  a  young  lion  which  roared  against 
him,  and  he  had  nothing  in  his  hand,  and  the  Spirit 
of  the  Lord  came  mightily  upon  him,  and  he  tore 
the  lion  as  he  would  have  torn  a  kid.  And,  again, 
how  when  traitors  had  bound  him  with  two  new 
cords,  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  came  mightily  upon 
him,  and  the  cords  which  were  on  his  arms  became 
as  flax  that  was  burnt  with  fire,  and  fell  from  off 
his  hands.  And,  for  God's  sake,  do  not  give  in  to 
that  miserable  fancy  that  because  these  stories  are 
what  you  call  miraculous,  therefore  they  have  no- 
thing to  do  with  you  —  that  Samson's  strength 
came  to  him  miraculously  by  God's  Spirit,  and  yet 
yours  comes  to  you  a  different  way.  The  Bible  is 
written  to  tell  you  how  all  that  happens  really 
happens — what  all  things  really  are;  God  is  working 
among  us  always,  but  we  do  not  see  Him ;  .and  the 
Bible  just  lifts  up,  once  and  for  all,  the  veil  which 
hides  Him  from  us,  and  lets  us  see,  in  one  instance, 
who  it  is  that  does  all  the  wonderful  things  which  go 
on  round  us  to  this  day,  that  wThen  we  see  any  thing 
like  it  happen  we  may  know  whom  to  thank  for  it. 
The  Great  Physician  healed  the  blind  and  the 


48  THE  WORK  OF  GOD'S  SPIRIT.  [SERM. 

lame  in  Judea ;  and  why  ? — to  show  us  who  heals 
the  blind  and  the  lame  now — to  show  us  that  the 
good  gift  of  medicine  and  surgery,  and  the  physi- 
cian's art,  comes  down  from  Him  who  cured  the 
paralytic  and  cleansed  the  lepers  in  Judea — to 
whom  all  power  is  given  in  heaven  and  earth. 

So,  again,  with  skill  in  farming  and  agriculture. 
From  whom  does  that  come  ?  The  very  heathens  can 
tell  us  that,  for  it  is  curious,  that  among  the  heathen, 
in  all  ages  and  countries,  those  men  who  have  found 
out  great  improvements  in  tilling  the  ground  have 
been  honoured  and  often  worshipped  as  divine  men 
— as  gods,  thereby  showing  that  the  heathen,  among 
all  their  idolatries,  had  a  true  and  just  notion  about 
man's  practical  skill  and  knowledge — that  it  could 
only  come  from  Heaven,  that  it  was  by  the  inspi- 
ration and  guidance  of  God  above,  that  skill  in  agri- 
culture arose.  What  says  Isaiah  of  that  to  the  very 
same  purpose  ?  "Doth  the  ploughman  plough  all  day 
to  sow  ?  Doth  he  open  and  break  the  clods  of  his 
ground?  When  he  hath  made  plain  the  face 
thereof,  doth  he  not  cast  abroad  the  fitches,  and 
cast  in  the  principal  wheat  and  the  appointed  barley 
and  the  rye  in  their  place  ?  For  his  God  doth  in- 
struct him  to  discretion,  and  doth  teach  him."  "This 
also,"  says  Isaiah,  "cometh  from  the  Lord  of  Hosts, 
who  is  wonderful  in  counsel,  and  excellent  in  work- 
ing."    Would  to  God  you  would  all  believe  it! 

Again;  wisdom  and  prudence,  and  a  clear,  power- 


IV.]  THE  WORK  OF  GOD'S  SPIRIT.  49 

ful  mind, — are  not  they  parts  of  God's  likeness  ? 
How  is  God's  Spirit  described  in  Scripture?  It  is 
called  the  Spirit  of  wisdom  and  understanding,  the 
Spirit  of  prudence  and  might.  Therefore,  surely, 
all  wisdom  and  understanding,  all  prudence  and 
strength  of  mind,  are,  like  that  Spirit,  part  of  God's 
image;  and  where  did  we  get  God's  image?  Can  we 
make  ourselves  like  God?  If  we  are  like  him,  He 
must  have  formed  that  likeness,  and  He  alone. 
The  Spirit  of  God,  says  the  Scripture,  giveth  us 
understanding. 

Or,  again ;  good-nature  and  aifection,  love,  gene- 
rosity, pity, — whose  likeness  are  they?  What  is 
God's  name  but  love?  God  is  love.  Has  not  He 
revealed  Himself  as  the  God  of  mercy,  full  of  long- 
suffering,  compassion,  and  free  forgiveness;  and 
must  not,  then,  all  love  and  affection,  all  compassion 
and  generosity,  be  His  gift?  Yes.  As  the  rays  come 
from  the  sun,  and  yet  are  not  the  sun,  even  so  our 
love  and  pity,  though  they  are  not  God,  but  merely 
a  poor,  weak  image  and  reflection  of  Him,  yet  from 
Him  alone  they  come.  If  there  is  mercy  in  our 
hearts,  it  comes  from  the  Fountain  of  mercy.  If 
there  is  the  light  of  love  in  us,  it  is  a  ray  from  the 
full  sum  of  His  love. 

Or  honesty,  again,  and  justice, — whose    image 

are  they  but  God's?     Is  He  not  The  Just  One — the 

righteous  God?     Is  not  what  is  just  for  man  just  for 

God?     Are  not  the  laws  of  justice  and  honesty,  by 

5* 


50  THE  WORK  OF  GOD'S  SPIRIT.  [SERM. 

which  man  deals  fairly  with  man,  Mis  laws — the 
laws  by  which  God  deals  with  us?  Does  not  every 
book — I  had  almost  said  every  page — in  the  Bible 
show  us  that  all  our  justice  is  but  the  pattern  and 
copy  of  God's  justice, — the  working  out  of  those 
six  latter  commandments  of  His,  which  are  summed 
up  in  that  one  command,  "Thou  shalt  love  thy  neigh- 
bour as  thyself?  " 

Now  here,  again,  I  ask:  If  justice  and  honesty 
be  God's  likeness,  who  made  us  like  God  in  this — 
who  put  into  us  this  sense  of  justice  which  all  have, 
though  so  few  obey  it?  Can  man  make  himself 
like  God?  Can  a  worm  ape  his  Maker?  No.  From 
God's  Spirit,  the  Spirit  of  right,  came  this  inborn 
feeling  of  justice,  this  knowledge  of  right  and  wrong, 
to  us — part  of  the  image  of  God  in  which  He 
created  man — part  of  the  breath  or  spirit  of  life 
which  He  breathed  into  Adam.  Do  not  mistake 
me.  I  do  not  say  that  the  sense,  and  honesty,  and 
love  in  us,  are  God's  Spirit — they  are  the  spirit  of 
man,  but  that  they  are  like  God's  Spirit,  and  there- 
fore they  must  be  given  us  by  God's  Spirit  to  be 
used  as  God's  Spirit  Himself  uses  them.  How  a 
man  shall  have  his  share  of  God's  Spirit,  and  live  in 
and  by  God's  Spirit,  is  another  question,  and  a 
higher  and  more  blessed  one;  but  we  must  master 
thisquestion  first — we  must  believe  that  our  spirits 
come  from  God,  then,  perhaps,  we  shall  begin  to 
see  that  our  spirits  never  can  work  well  unless  they 


IV.]  THE  WORK  OF  GOD'S  SPIRIT.  51 

are  joined  to  the  Spirit  of  God,  from  whom  they 
came.  From  whom  else,  I  ask  again,  can  they  come  ? 
Can  they  come  from  our  bodies?  Our  bodies! 
What  are  they? — Flesh  and  bones,  made  up  of  air 
and  water  and  earth, — out  of  the  dead  bodies  of  the 
animals,  the  dead  roots  and  fruits  of  plants  which 
we  eat.  They  are  earth — matter.  Can  matter  be 
courageous?  Did  you  ever  hear  of  a  good-natured 
plant,  or  an  honest  stone  ?  Then  this  good-nature, 
and  honesty,  and  courage  of  ours,  must  belong  to 
our  souls — our  spirits.  Who  put  them  there?  Did 
we?  Does  a  child  make  its  own  character?  Does 
its  body  make  its  character  first?  Can  its  father 
and  mother  make  its  character?  No.  Our  charac- 
ters must  come  from  some  spirit  above  us — either 
from  God  or  from  the  devil.  And  is  the  devil 
likely  to  make  us  honest,  or  brave,  or  kindly?  I 
leave  you  to  answer  that.  God — God  alone,  my 
friends,  is  the  author  of  good — the  help  that  is  done 
on  earth,  He  doeth  it  all  Himself:  every  good  gift 
and  every  perfect  gift  cometh  from  Him. 

Now  some  of  you  may  think  this  a  strange  sort 
of  sermon,  because  I  have  said  little  or  nothing 
about  Jesus  Christ  and  His  redemption  in  it,  but  I 
say — No. 

You  must  believe  this  much  about  yourselves 
before  you  can  believe  more.  You  must  fairly  and 
really  believe  that  God  made  you  one  thing  before 
you  can  believe  that  you  have  made  yourselves  ano- 


52  THE  WORK  OF   GOD'S  SPIRIT.  [SERM. 

ther  thing.  You  must  really  believe  that  you  are  not 
mere  machines  and  animals,  but  immortal  souls, 
before  you  can  really  believe  that  you  have  sinned; 
for  animals  cannot  sin — only  reasonable  souls  can 
sin.  We  must  really  believe  that  God  made  us  at 
bottom  in  His  likeness,  before  we  can  begin  to  find 
out  that  there  is  another  likeness  in  us  besides  God's 
— a  selfish,  brutish,  too  often  a  devilish  likeness 
which  must  be  repented  of,  and  fought  against,  and 
cast  out,  that  God's  likeness  in  us  may  get  the  up- 
per hand,  and  we  may  be  what  God  expects  us  to  be. 
We  must  know  our  dignity  before  we  can  feel  our 
shame.  We  must  see  how  high  we  have  a  right  to 
stand,  that  we  may  see  how  low,  alas !  we  have 
fallen. 

Now  you — I  know  many  such  here,  thank  God 
— to  whom  God  has  given  clear,  powerful  heads  for 
business,  and  honest,  kindly  hearts,  I  do  beseech 
you — consider  my  words,  Who  has  given  you  these 
but  God  ?  They  are  talents  which  He  has  com- 
mitted to  your  charge;  and  will  He  not  require  an 
account  of  them?  He  only,  and  His  free  mercy,  has 
made  you  to  differ  from  others ;  if  you  are  better 
than  the  fools  and  profligates  round  you,  He,  and 
not  yourselves,  has  made  you  better.  What  have 
you  that  you  have  not  received?  By  the  grace  of 
God  alone  you  are  what  you  are.  If  good  comes 
easier  to  you  than  to  others,  He  alone  has  made 
it  easier  to  you;   and  if  you  have  done  wrong, — 


IV.]  THE  WORK  OF  GOD'S  SPIRIT.  53 

if  you  have  fallen  short  of  your  duty,  as  all  fall 
short,  is  not  your  sin  greater  than  others?  for  unto 
whom  much  is  given  of  them  much  shall  be  re- 
quired. Consider  that,  for  God's  sake,  and  see 
if  you,  too,  have  not  something  to  be  ashamed  of, 
between  yourselves  and  God.  See  if  you,  too,  have 
not  need  of  Jesus  Christ  and  his  precious  blood, 
and  God's  free  forgiveness,  who  have  had  so  much 
light  and  power  given  you,  and  still  have  fallen 
short  of  what  you  might  have  been,  and  what,  by 
God's  grace  you  still  may  be,  and,  as  I  hope  and 
earnestly  pray,  still  will  be. 

And  you,  young  men  and  women — consider; — if 
God  has  given  you  manly  courage  and  high  spirits, 
and  strength  and  beauty — think — God,  your  Fa- 
ther, has  given  them  to  you,  and  of  them  He  will 
surely  require  an  account;  therefore,  " Rejoice, 
young  people,"  says  Solomon,  "in  your  youth,  and 
let  your  hearts  cheer  you  in  the  days  of  your  youth, 
and  walk  in  the  ways  of  your  heart  and  in  the  sight 
of  your  eyes.  But  remember,"  continues  the  wisest 
of  men, — "remember,  that  for  all  these  things  God 
shall  bring  you  into  judgment."  Now  do  not  mis- 
understand that.  It  does  not  mean  that  there  is  a 
sin  in  being  happy.  It  does  not  mean  that  if  God 
has  given  to  a  young  man  a  bold  spirit  and  power- 
ful limbs,  or  to  a  young  woman  a  handsome  face 
and  a  merry  loving  heart,  that  he  will  punish  them 
for  these — God  forbid  !  what  He  gives  He  means  to 


54  THE  WORK  OF  GOD'S  SPIRIT.       [sERM.  IV. 

be  used:  but  this  it  means,  that  according  as  you 
use  those  blessings  so  will  you  be  judged  at  the 
last  day:  that  for  them,  too,  you  will  be  brought  to 
judgment,  and  tried  at  the  bar  of  God.  As  you 
have  used  them  for  industry,  and  innocent  happi- 
ness, and  holy  married  love,  or  for  riot  and  quar- 
relling, and  idleness,  and  vanity,  and  filthy  lusts, 
so  shall  you  be  judged.  And  if  any  of  you  have 
sinned  in  any  of  these  ways, — God  forbid  that  you 
should  have  sinned  in  all  these  ways;  but  surely, 
surely,  some  of  you  have  been  idle — some  of  you 
have  been  riotous — some  of  you  have  been  vain — 
some  of  you  have  been  quarrelsome — some  of  you, 
alas !  have  been  that  which  I  shall  not  name  here. 
Think,  if  you  have  sinned  in  any  one  of  these  ways, 
how  can  you  answer  it  to  God.  Have  you  not  need 
of  the  blessed  Saviour's  blood  to  wash  you  clean  ? 
Young  people!  God  has  given  you  much.  As  a 
young  man,  I  speak  to  you.  Youth  is  an  inestima- 
ble blessing  or  an  inestimable  curse,  according  as 
you  use  it ;  and  if  you  have  abused  your  spring- 
time of  youth,  as  all  I  am  afraid,  have — as  I  have 
— as  almost  all  do,  alas  !  in  this  fallen  world,  where 
can  you  get  forgiveness  but  from  Him  that  died  on 
the  cross  to  take  away  the  sins  of  the  world? 


SERMON  V 


FAITH. 

"  Tlie  just  shall  live  by  faith." — Habakkuk,  ii.  4. 

This  is  one  of  those  texts  of  which  there  are  so 
many  in  the  Bible,  which  though  they  were  spoken 
originally  to  one  particular  man,  yet  are  meant  for 
every  man.  These  words  were  spoken  to  Habak- 
kuk, a  Jewish  prophet,  to  check  him  for  his  impa- 
tience under  God's  hand ;  but  they  are  just  as  true 
for  every  man  that  ever  was  and  ever  will  be  as 
they  were  for  him.  They  are  world-wide  and 
world-old ;  they  are  the  law  by  which  all  goodness, 
and  strength,  and  safety,  stand  either  in  men  or 
angels,  for  it  always  was  true,  and  always  must  be 
true,  that  if  reasonable  beings  are  to  live  at  all,  it 
is  by  faith. 

And  why?  Because  every  thing  that  is,  heaven 
and  earth,  men  and  angels,  are  all  the  work  of  God 
— of  one  God,  infinite,  almighty,  all-wise,  all-loving, 
unutterably  glorious.     My  friends,  we  do  not  think 


56  FAITH.  [SEEM. 

enough  of  this, —  not  that  all  the  thinking  in  the 
world  can  ever  make  us  comprehend  the  majesty 
of  our  Heavenly  Father;  but  we  do  not  remember 
enough  what  we  do  know  of  God.  We  think  of 
God,  watching  the  world  and  all  things  in  it,  and 
keeping  them  in  order  as  a  shepherd  does  his  sheep, 
and  so  far  so  good ;  but  we  forget  that  God  does 
more  than  this, — we  forget  that  this  earth,  sun,  and 
moon,  and  all  the  thousand  thousand  stars  which 
cover  the  midnight  sky, — many  of  them  suns  larger 
than  the  sun  we  see,  and  worlds  larger  than  the 
world  on  which  we  stand,  that  all  these,  stretching 
away  millions  of  millions  of  miles  into  boundless 
space, — all  are  lying,  like  one  little  grain  of  dust,  in 
the  hollow  of  God's  hand,  and  that  if  He  were  to  shut 
His  hand  upon  them,  He  could  crush  them  into  no- 
thing, and  God  would  be  alone  in  the  universe  again, 
as  he  was  before  heaven  and  earth  were  made. 

Think  of  that ! — that  if  God  was  but  to  will  it,  we 
and  this  earth  on  which  we  stand,  and  the  heaven 
above  us,  and  the  sun  that  shines  on  us,  would  vanish 
away,  and  be  no-where  and  no-thing.  Think  of  the 
infinite  power  of  God,  and  then  think  how  is  it  pos- 
sible to  live,  except  by  faith  in  Him,  by  trusting  to 
Him  utterly.  If  you  accustom  yourselves  to  think  in 
the  same  way  of  the  infinite  wisdom  of  God,  and  the 
infinite  love  of  God,  they  will  both  teach  you  the 
same  lesson ;  they  will  show  you  that  if  you  were  the 
greatest,  the  wisest,  the  holiest  man  that  ever  lived. 


V.]  FAITH.  57 

you  would  still  be  such  a  speck  by  the  side  of  the 
Almighty  and  Everlasting  God  that  it  would  be 
madness  to  depend  upon  yourselves  for  any  thing 
while  you  lived  in  God's  world.  For,  after  all,  what 
can  we  do  without  God?  In  him  we  live,  and 
move,  and  have  our  being.  He  made  us,  He  gave 
us  our  bodies,  He  gave  us  our  life;  what  we  do  He 
lets  us  do,  what  we  say  He  lets  us  say ;  we  all  live  on 
sufferance.  What  is  it  but  God's  infinite  mercy  that 
ever  brought  us  here  or  keeps  us  here  an  instant? 
We  may  pretend  to  act  without  God's  leave  or  help, 
but  it  is  impossible  for  us  to  do  so;  the  strength  we 
put  forth,  the  wit  we  use,  are  all  His  gifts.  We 
cannot  draw  a  breath  of  air  without  his  leave.  And 
yet  men  fancy  they  can  do  without  God  in  the 
world !  My  friends,  these  are  but  few  words,  and 
poor  words,  about  the  glorious  majesty  of  God  and 
our  littleness  when  compared  with  Him  ;  but  I  have 
said  quite  enough,  at  least,  to  show  you  all  how  ab- 
surd it  is  to  depend  upon  ourselves  for  any  thing. 
If  we  are  mere  creatures  of  God,  if  God  alone  has 
every  blessing  both  of  this  world  and  the  next,  and 
the  will  to  give  them  away,  whom  are  we  to  go  to 
but  to  Him  for  all  we  want?  It  is  so  in  the  life  of 
our  bodies,  and  it  is  so  in  the  life  of  our  spirits.  If 
we  wish  for  God's  blessings,  from  God  we  must  ask 
them.  That  is  our  duty,  even  though  God  in  His 
mercy  and  long-suffering  does  pour  down  many  a 
blessing  upon  men  who  never  trust  in  Him  for  them. 


58  FAITH.  [SERM. 

To  us  all,  indeed,  God  gives  blessings  before  we  are 
old  enough  to  trust  in  Him  for  them,  and  to  many 
He  continues  those  blessings  in  after-life  in  spite 
of  their  blindness  and  want  of  faith.  "  He  maketh. 
His  sun  to  shine  on  the  evil  and  on  the  good,  and 
sendeth  rain  on  the  just  and  on  the  unjust."  He 
gives — gives — it  is  His  glory  to  give.  Yet,  strange ! 
that  men  will  go  on  year  after  year,  using  the 
limbs,  and  eating  the  food,  which  God  gives  them, 
without  ever  believing  so  much  as  that  God  lias 
given  them,  without  so  much  as  looking  up  to 
heaven  once  and  saying,  "  God,  I  thank  Thee!" 
But  we  must  remember  that  those  blessings  will 
not  last  for  ever.  Unless  a  man  has  lived  by  faith 
in  God  with  regard  to  his  earthly  comforts,  death 
will  come  and  put  an  end  to  them  at  once ;  and  then 
it  is  only  those  who  have  trusted  in  God  for  all  good 
things  and  thanked  Him  accordingly  in  this  life, 
who  shall  have  their  part  in  the  new  heavens  and 
the  new  earth,  which  will  so  immeasurably  surpass 
all  that  this  earth  can  give. 

And  it  is  the  same  with  the  life  of  our  spirits;  in 
it,  too,  we  must  live  by  faith.  The  life  of  our 
spirits  is  a  gift  from  God  the  father  of  spirits,  and 
He  has  chosen  to  declare  that,  -unless  we  trust  to 
Him  for  life,  and  ask  him  for  life,  He  will  not  be- 
stow it  upon  us.  The  life  of  our  bodies  He  in  His 
mercy  keeps  up,  although  we  forget  Him ;  the  life 
of  our  souls  He  will  not  keep  up :  therefore,  for 


V.]  FAITH.  59 

the  sake  of  our  spirits,  even  more  than  of  our  bo- 
dies, we  must  live  by  faith.  If  we  wish  to  be  loving, 
pure,  wise,  manly,  noble,  we  must  ask  those  excel- 
lent gifts  of  God,  who  is  Himself  infinite  love,  and 
purity,  wisdom  and  nobleness.  If  we  wish  for  ever- 
lasting life,  from  whom  can  we  obtain  it  but  from 
God,  who  is  the  boundless,  eternal  life  itself?  If 
we  wish  for  forgiveness  for  our  faults  and  failings, 
where  are  we  to  get  it  but  from  God,  who  is  bound- 
less love  and  pity,  and  who  has  revealed  to  us  His 
boundless  love  and  pity  in  the  form  of  a  man,  Jesus 
Christ,  the  Saviour  of  the  world? 

And  to  go  a  step  further;  it  is  by  faith  in  Christ 
we  must  live — in  Christ,  a  man  like  ourselves,  yet 
God  blessed  for  ever.  For  it  is  a  certain  truth,  that 
men  cannot  believe  in  God  or  trust  in  Him  unless 
they  can  think  of  Him  as  a  man.  This  was  the 
reason  why  the  poor  heathen  made  themselves  idols 
in  the  form  of  men,  that  they  might  have  some- 
thing like  themselves  to  worship;  and  those  among 
them  who  would  not  worship  idols  almost  always 
ended  in  fancying  that  God  was  either  a  mere  no- 
tion, or  else  a  mere  part  of  this  world,  or  else  that 
He  sat  up  in  heaven,  neither  knowing  nor  caring 
what  happened  upon  earth.  But  we,  to  whom  God 
has  given  the  glorious  news  of  His  Gospel,  have  the 
very  Person  to  worship  whom  all  the  heathen  were 
searching  after  and  could  not  find, — one  who  is 
"  very  God,"  infinite  in  love,  wisdom,  and  strength, 


60  FAITH.  [SERM. 

and  yet  "very  man,"  made  in  all  points  like  our- 
selves, but  without  sin;  so  that  we  have  not  a  high 
Priest  who  cannot  be  touched  with  the  feeling  of 
our  infirmities,  but  one  who  is  able  to  help  those 
who  are  tempted,  because  He  was  tempted  Himself 
like  us,  and  overcame  by  the  strength  of  His  own 
perfect  will,  of  His  own  perfect  faith.  By  trust- 
ing in  Him,  and  acknowledging  Him  in  every 
thought  and  action  of  our  lives,  we  shall  be  safe; 
for  it  is  written,  "  The  just  shall  live  by  faith." 

These  things  are  true,  and  always  were  true. 
All  that  men  ever  did  well,  or  nobly,  or  lovingly, 
in  this  world,  was  done  by  faith — by  faith  in  God 
of  some  sort -or  other;  even  in  the  man  who 
thinks'  least  about  religion,  it  is  so.  Every  time 
a  man  means  to  do,  and  really  does,  a  just  or  ge- 
nerous action,  he  does  it  because  he  believes,  more 
or  less  clearly,  that  there  is  a  just  and  loving  God 
above  him,  and  that  justice  and  love  are  the  right 
things  for  a  man — the  law  by  which  God  intend- 
ed* him  to  walk :  so  that  this  small,  dim  faith  still 
shows  itself  in  practice;  and  the  more  faith  a  man 
has  in  God  and  in  God's  laws,  the  more  it  will 
show  itself  in  every  action  of  his  daily  life ;  and  the 
more  this  faith  works  in  his  life  and  conduct,  the 
better  man  he  is; — the  more  he  is  like  God's  image, 
in  which  man  was  originally  made; — and  the  more 
he  is  like  Christ,  the  new  pattern  of  God's  image, 
whom  all  men  must  copy. 


V.]  FAITH.  61 

So  that  the  sum  of  the  matter  is  this:  without 
Christ  we  can  do  nothing,  by  trusting  in  Christ  we 
can  do  every  thing.  See,  then,  how  true  the  verse 
before  my  text  must  be,  that  he  whose  soul  is  lifted 
up  in  him  is  not  upright ;  for  if  a  man  fancies  that 
his  body  and  soul  are  his  own,  to  do  what  he  pleases 
with  them,  when  all  the  time  they  are  God's  gift; — 
if  a  man  fancies  that  lie  can  take  perfect  care  of 
himself,  while  all  the  time  it  is  God  that  is  keeping 
him  out  of  a  thousand  sins  and  dangers ; — if  a  man 
fancies  that  he  can  do  right  of  himself,  when  all 
the  time  the  little  good  that  he  does  is  the  work  of 
God's  Spirit,  which  has  not  yet  left  him; — if  a  man 
fancies,  in  short,  that  he  can  do  without  God,  when 
all  the  time  it  is  in  God  that  he  lives,  and  moves, 
and  has  his  being,  how  can  such  a  man  be  called 
upright?  Upright!  he  is  utterly  wrong; — he  is 
believing  a  lie  and  walking  accordingly;  and,  there- 
fore, instead  of  keeping  upright,  he  is  going  where 
all  lies  lead,  into  all  kinds  of  low  and  crooked  ways, 
mistakes,  absurdities,  and  at  last  to  ruin  of  body 
and  soul.  Nothing  but  truth  can  keep  a  man  up- 
right and  straight,  can  keep  a  man  where  God  has 
put  him,  and  where  he  ought  to  be ;  and  the  man 
whose  heart  is  puffed  up  by  pride  and  self-conceit, 
who  is  looking  at  himself  and  not  at  God,  that 
man  has  begun  upon  a  falsehood,  and  will  soon 
get  out  of  tune  with  heaven  and  earth.  For 
consider,  my  friends:  suppose  some  rich  and 
6* 


62  FAITH.  [SERM. 

mighty  prince  went  out  and  collected  a  number  of 
children,  and  of  sick  and  infirm  people,  and  said 
to  them,  "You  cannot  work  now,  but  I  will  give 
you  food,  medicine,  every  thing  that  you  require, 
and  then  you  must  help  me  to  work;  and  I,  though 
you  have  no  right  to  expect  it  of  me,  will  pay  you 
for  the  little  work  you  can  do  on  the  strength  of 
my  food  and  medicine." — Is  it  not  plain  that  all 
those  persons   could  only  live    by  faith   in   their 
prince,  by  trusting  in  him  for  food  and  medicine, 
and   by  acknowledging    that   food    and    medicine 
came  from   him,  and   thanking   him   accordingly? 
If  they  wished  to  be  true  men,  if  they  wished  him 
to  continue  his  bounty,  they  would  confess  that  all 
the  health  and  strength  they  had  belonged  to  him 
of  right,  because  his  generosity   had  given   it  to 
them.     Just  in  this  position  we  stand  with  Christ 
the  Lord.     When  the  whole  world  lay  in  wicked- 
ness, He  came  and  chose  us,  of  His  free  grace  and 
mercy,  to  be  one  of  His  peculiar  nations,  to  work 
for   Him  and  with  him;  and   from   the   time  He 
came,  all  that  we  and  our  forefathers  have  done 
well  has  been  done  by  the  strength  and  wisdom 
which  Christ  has  given  us.     Now  suppose,  again, 
that   one   of   the  persons  of   whom  I  spoke   was 
seized  with  a  fit  of  pride — suppose  he  said  to  him- 
self,   "  My  health  and  strength  do  not  come  from 
the  food  and  medicine  which  the  prince  gave  me, 
they  come  from  the  goodness  of  my  own  constitution; 


V.]  FAITH.  63 

the  wages  which  I  am  paid  are  my  just  due;  I  am 
a  free  man,  and  may  choose  what  master  I  like." 
Suppose  any  one  of  your  servants  treated  you  so, 
would  you  not  be  inclined  to  answer,  "You  are  a 
faithless,  ungrateful  fellow;  go  your  ways,  then, 
and  see  how  little  you  can  do  without  my  bounty?" 
But  the  blessed  King  in  heaven,  though  he  is  pro- 
voked every  day,  is  more  long-suffering  than  man. 
All  He  does  is  to  withdraw  His  bounty  for  a 
moment,  to  take  this  world's  blessings  from  a  man, 
and  let  him  find  out  how  impossible  it  is  for  him  to 
keep  himself  out  of  affliction — to  take  away  His 
Holy  Spirit  for  a  moment  from  a  man,  and  let  him 
see  how  straight  he  rushes  astray,  and  every  way 
but  the  right;  and  then,  if  the  man  is  humbled  by 
his  fall  or  his  affliction,  and  comes  back  to  his  Lord, 
confessing  how  weak  he  is,  and  promising  to  trust 
in  Christ  and  thank  Christ  only  for  the  future, 
then  our  Lord  will  restore  His  blessings  to  him,  and 
there  will  be  joy  among  the  angels  of  God  over  one 
sinner  that  repents.  This  was  the  way  in  which 
God  treated  Job  when,  in  spite  of  all  his  excellence, 
his  heart  was  lifted  up.  And  then,  when  he  saw 
his  own  folly,  and  abhorred  himself,  and  repented 
in  dust  and  ashes,  God  restored  to  him  sevenfold 
what  He  had  taken  from  him  —  honour,  wisdom, 
riches,  home,  and  children.  This  is  the  way,  too, 
in  which  God  treated  David.  "In  my  prosperity," 
lie  tells  us,  "I  said,  I  shall  never  be  moved;  thou, 


64  FAITH.  [SERM. 

Lord,  of  Thy  goodness  hast  made  my  hill  so  strong" 
— forgetting  that  he  must  be  kept  safe  every  mo- 
ment of  his  life,  as  well  as  made  safe  once  for  all. 
"Thou  didst  turn  Thy  face  from  me,  and  I  was 
troubled.  Then  cried  I  unto  Thee,  0  Lord,  and 
gat  me  to  my  Lord  right  humbly.  And  then,"  he 
adds,  "God  turned  my  heaviness  into  joy,  and  girded 
me  with  gladness."  (Psalm  xxx.)  And,  again,  he 
says,  " Before  I  was  troubled  I  went  wrong,  but  now 
I  have  kept  Thy  word."  (Psalm  cxix.)  And  this  is 
the  way  in  which  Christ  the  Lord  treated  St.  Peter 
and  St.  Paul,  and  treats,  in  his  great  mercy,  every 
Christian  man  when  He  sees  him  puffed  up,  to  bring 
him  to  his  senses,  and  make  him  live  by  faith  in 
God.  If  he  takes  the  warning,  well ;  if  he  does  not, 
he  remains  in  a  lie,  and  must  go  where  all  lies  lead. 
So  perfectly  does  it  hold  throughout  a  man's  whole 
life,  that  he  whose  soul  is  lifted  up  within  him  is 
not  upright;  but  that  the  just  must  live  by  faith. 

Now  there  is  one  objection  apt  to  rise  in  men's 
minds  when  they  hear  such  words  as  these,  which 
is,  that  they  take  such  a  "low  view  of  human  na- 
ture; "  it  is  so  galling  to  our  pride  to  be  told  that 
we  can  do  nothing  for  ourselves:  but  if  we  think 
of  the  matter  more  closely,  and,  above  all,  if  we  try 
to  put  it  into  practice  and  live  by  faith,  we  shall 
find  that  there  is  no  real  reason  for  thus  objecting. 
This  is  not  a  doctrine  which  ou^ht  to  make  us  de- 
spise  men;  any  doctrine  that  does,  does  not  come 


y.]  FAITH.  65 

of  God.    Men  are  not  contemptible  creatures— they 
are  glorious  creatures  —  they  were  created  in  the 
image   of  God;    God  has    put   such  honour   upon 
them  that  He  has  given  them  dominion  over  the 
whole  earth,  and  made  them  partakers  of  His  eter- 
nal reason ;  and  His  Spirit  gives  them  understanding 
to  enable  them  to  conquer  this  earth,  and  make  the 
beasts,  ay,  and  the  very  winds  and  seas,  and  fire 
and  steam,  their   obedient   servants  ;    am)  human 
nature,  too,  when  it  is  what  God  made  it,  and  what 
it  ought  to  be,  is  not  a  contemptible  thing;  it  was 
noble  enough  for  the  Son  of  God  to  take  it  upon  Him- 
self— to  become  man,  without  sinning  or  defiling 
Himself;  and  what  was  good  enough  for  Him  is 
surely  good  enough  for  us.     Wickedness  consists  in 
unmanUness,  in  being  unlike  a  man,  in  becoming 
like  an  evil  spirit  or  a  beast.     Holiness  consists  in 
becoming  a  true  man,  in  becoming  more  and  more 
like  the  likeness  of  Jesus  Christ.     And  when  the 
Bible  tells  us  that  we  can  do  nothing  of  ourselves, 
but  can  live  only  by  faith,  the  Bible  puts  the  highest 
honour  upon  us  which  any  created  thing  can  have. 
What  are  the  things  which  cannot  live  by  faith? 
The  trees  and  plants,  the  beasts  and  birds,  which, 
though  they  live  and  grow  by  God's  providence,  yet 
do  not  know  it,   do   not  thank   Him,  cannot  ask 
Him  for  more  strength  and  life  as  we  can,  are  mere 
dead  tools  in  God's  hands,  instead  of  living,  reason- 
able beings  as  we  are.    It  is  only  reasonable  beings, 


GG  FAITH.  [SERM. 

like  men  and  angels,  with  immortal  spirits  in 
them,  who  can  live  by  faith;  and  it  is  the  greatest 
glory  and  honour  to  us,  I  say  again,  that  we  can 
do  so  —  that  the  glorious,  infinite  God,  Maker  of 
heaven  and  earth,  should  condescend  to  ask  us  to 
be  loyal  to  Him,  to  love  Him,  should  encourage  us  to 
pray  to  him  boldly,  and  then  should  condescend  to 
hear  our  prayers — we,  who  in  comparison  of  Him 
are  smaller  than  the  gnats  in  the  sunbeam  in  com- 
parison of  men!  And  then,  when  we  remember 
that  He  has  sent  His  only  Son  into  the  world  to 
take  our  nature  upon  Him,  and  join  us  all  together 
into  one  great  and  everlasting  family,  the  body  of 
Christ  the  Lord,  and  that  He  has  actually  given  us 
a  share  in  His  own  Almighty  Holy  Spirit,  that  we 
may  be  able  to  love  Him,  and  to  serve  Him,  and 
to  be  joined  to  Him,  the  Almighty  Father,  do  we 
not  see  that  all  this  is  infinitely  more  honourable 
to  us  than  if  we  were  each  to  go  on  his  own  way 
here  without  God — without  knowing  any  thing  of 
the  everlasting  world  of  spirits  to  which  we  now 
belong?  My  friends,  instead  of  being  ashamed 
of  being  able  to  do  nothing  for  ourselves,  we  ought 
to  rejoice  at  having  God  for  our  Father  and  our 
Friend,  to  enable  us  to  "do  all  things  through  Him 
who  strengthens  us" — to  do  whatever  is  noble,  and 
loving,  and  worthy  of  true  men.  Instead,  then,  of 
dreaming  conceitedly  that  God  will  accept  us  for  our 
own  sakes,  let  us  just  be  content  to  be  accepted  for 


V.]  FAITH.  67 

the  sake  of  Jesus  Christ  our  King.  Instead  of 
trying  to  walk  through  this  world  without  God's 
help,  let  us  ask  God  to  help  and  guide  us  in  every 
action  of  our  lives,  and  then  go  manfully  forward, 
doing  with  all  our  might  whatsoever  our  hands  or 
our  hearts  see  right  to  do,  trusting  to  God  to  put  us 
in  the  right  path,  and  to  fill  our  heads  with  right 
thoughts  and  our  hearts  with  right  feeling;  and  so 
our  faith  will  show  itself  in  our  works,  and  we  shall 
be  justified  at  the  last  day,  as  all  good  men  have 
ever  been,  by  trusting  to  our  Heavenly  Father  and 
to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  guidance  of  His 
Holy  Spirit. 


SERMON  VI 


THE  SPIRIT  AND  THE  FLESH. 

"  I  say,  then,  Walk  in  the  Spirit,  and  ye  shall  not  fulfil  the  lusts 
of  the  flesh.  For  the  flesh  lusteth  against  the  Spirit,  and  the 
Spirit  against  the  flesh,  and  these  are  contrary  the  one  to  the 
other." — Galatians,  v.  18. 

The  more  we  think  seriously,  my  friends,  the 
more  we  shall  see  what  wonderful  and  awful  things 
words  are,  how  much  more  they  mean  than  we 
fancy, — how  we  do  not  make  words,  but  words  are 
given  to  us  by  one  higher  than  ourselves.  Wise 
men  say  that  you  can  tell  the  character  of  any 
nation  by  its  language,  by  watching  the  words  they 
use,  the  names  they  give  to  things,  for  out  of  the 
abundance  of  the  heart  the  mouth  speaks,  and  by 
our  words,  our  Lord  tells  us,  we  shall  be  justified  and 
condemned. 

It  is  God,  and  Christ,  the  Word  of  God,  who 
gives  words  to  men,  who  puts  it  into  the  hearts  of 
men  to  call  certain  things  by  certain  names;  and, 
according  to  a  nation's  godliness,  and  wisdom,  and 
purity  of  heart,  will  be  its  power  of  using  words 


SERM.  VI.]      THE  SPIRIT  AND  THE  FLESH.  69 

discreetly  and  reverently.  That  miracle  of  the  gift 
of  tongues,  of  which  we  read  in  the  New  Testament, 
would  have  been  still  most  precious  and  full  of 
meaning  if  it  had  had  no  other  use  than  this — to 
teach  men  from  whom  words  come.  When  men 
found  themselves  all  of  a  sudden  inspired  to  talk  in 
foreign  languages  which  they  had  never  learnt,  to 
utter  words  of  which  they  themselves  did  not  know 
the  meaning,  do  you  not  see  how  it  must  have  made 
them  feel  that  all  language  is  God's  making  and 
God's  giving?  Do  you  not  see  how  it  must  have 
made  them  feel  what  awful,  mysterious  things  words 
were,  like  those  cloven  tongues  of  fire  which  fell  on 
the  apostles?  The  tongues  of  fire  signified  the  dif- 
ficult foreign  languages  which  they  suddenly  began 
to  speak  as  the  Spirit  gave  them  utterance.  And 
where  did  the  tongues  of  fire  come  from?  Not  out 
of  themselves,  not  out  of  the  earth  beneath,  but 
down  from  the  heaven  above,  to  signify  that  it  is 
not  from  man,  from  man's  flesh  or  brain,  or  the 
earthly  part  of  him,  that  words  are  bred,  but  that 
they  come  down  from  Christ  the  Word  of  God,  and 
are  breathed  into  the  minds  of  men  by  the  Spirit  of 
God.  Why  did  I  speak  of  all  this  ?  To  make  you 
feel  what  awful,  wonderful  things  words  are ;  how, 
when  you  want  to  understand  the  meaning  of  a 
word,  you  must  set  to  work  with  reverence  and 
godly  fear — not  in  self-conceit  and  prejudice,  taking 
the  word  to  mean  just  what  suits  your  own  notions 
7 


70  THE  SPIRIT  AND  THE  FLESH.  [SERM. 

of  things,  but  trying  humbly  to  find  out  what  the 
word  really  does  mean  of  itself,  what  God  meant  it 
to  mean  when  He  put  it  into  the  hearts  of  wise  men 
to  use  that  word  and  bring  it  into  our  English  lan- 
guage. A  man  ought  to  read  a  newspaper  or  a 
story-book  in  that  spirit;  how  much  more,  when  he 
takes  up  the  Bible  !  How  reverently  he  ought  to 
examine  every  word  in  the  New  Testament — this 
very  text,  for  instance.  We  ought  to  be  sure  that 
St.  Paul,  just  because  he  was  an  inspired  apostle, 
used  the  very  best  possible  words  to  express  what  he 
meant  on  so  important  a  matter;  and  what  are  the 
best  words?  The  clearest  and  the  simplest  words 
are  the  best  words;  else  how  is  the  Bible  to  be  the 
poor  man's  book  ?  How,  unless  the  wayfaring  man, 
though  simple,  shall  not  err  therein  ?  Therefore  we 
may  be  sure  the  words  in  Scripture  are  certain  to 
be  used  in  their  simplest,  most  natural,  most  every- 
day meaning,  such  as  the  simplest  man  can  under- 
stand. And  therefore  we  may  be  sure,  that  these 
two  words,  "flesh"  and  "spirit,"  in  my  text,  are 
used  in  their  very  simplest,  straightforward  sense ; 
and  that  St.  Paul  meant  by  them  what  working-men 
mean  by  them  in  the  affairs  of  daily  life.  No  doubt 
St.  Peter  says  that  there  are  many  things  in  St. 
Paul's  writings  difficult  to  be  understood,  which  those 
who  are  unlearned  and  unstable  wrest  to  their  own 
destruction;  and,  most  true  it  is,  so  they  do  daily. 
But  what  does  "wresting"  a  thing  mean?    It  means 


VI.]  THE  SPIRIT  AXD  THE  FLESH.  71 

twisting  it,  bending  it,  turning  it  out  of  its  original, 
straight-forward,  natural  meaning,  into  some  new, 
crooked  meaning  of  their  own.  This  is  the  way 
we  are  all  of  us  too  apt,  I  am  afraid,  to  come  to  St. 
Paul's  Epistles.  We  find  him  difficult  because  we 
won't  take  him  at  his  word,  because  we  tear  a  text 
out  of  its  right  place  in  the  chapter — the  place 
where  St.  Paul  put  it — and  make  it  stand  by  itself, 
instead  of  letting  the  rest  of  the  chapter  explain  its 
meaning.  And  then,  again,  people  use  the  words 
in  the  text  as  unfairly  and  unreasonably  as  they  use 
the  text  itself;  they  won't  let  the  words  have  their 
common-sense  English  meaning — they  must  stick 
a  new  meaning  on  them  of  their  own.  "Oh,"  they 
say,  "that  text  must  not  be  taken  literally;  that  word 
has  a  spiritual  signification  here.  Flesh  does  not 
mean  flesh,  it  means  men's  corrupt  nature;"  little 
thinking  all  the  while  that  perhaps  they  understand 
those  words,  spiritual,  and  corrupt,  and  nature,  just 
as  ill  as  they  do  the  rest  of  the  text. 

How  much  better,  my  friends,  to  let  the  Bible  tell 
its  own  story ;  not  to  b%  so  exceeding  wise  above 
what  is  written;  just  to  believe  that  St.  Paul  knew 
better  how  to  use  words  than  we  are  likely  to  do ; — 
just  to  believe  that  when  he  says  flesh  he  means 
flesh.  Every  body  agrees  that  when  he  says  spirit 
he  means  spirit :  why,  in  the  name  of  common  sense, 
when  he  says  flesh  should  he  not  mean  flesh?  For 
my  own  part,  I  believe  that  when  St.  Paul  talks  of 


72  t:he  spirit  ikd  the  flesh.        [serm. 

Mian's  flesh,  he  means  by  it  man's  body,  man's 
heart  and  brain,  and  all  his  bodily  appetites  and 
powers— what  we  call  a  man's  constitution ;  in  a 
word,  the  animal  part  of  man,  just  what  a  man  has 
in  common  "witti  the  beasts  who  perish. 

To  understand  what  I  mean,  consider  any  animal 
— a  dog,  for  instance — how  much  every  animal  has 
in  it  what  men  have, — a  body,  and  brain,  and  heart ; 
•it  hungers  and  thirsts  as  we  do;  it  can  feel  pleasure 
;and  pain,  anger  and  loneliness,  or  fear  and  mad- 
T-iess;  it  likes  freedom,  company,  and  exercise,  praise 
■and  petting,  play  and  ease;  it  uses  a  great  deal  of 
cunning,  and  thought,  and  courage,  to  get  itself  food 
and  shelter,  just  as  human  beings  do:  in  short,  it 
has  a  fleshly  nature,  just  as  we  have,  and  yet,  after 
all,  it  is  but  an  animal,  and  so,  in  one  sense,  we  are 
all  animals,  only  more  delicately  made  than  the  other 
animals;  but  we  are  something  more ;  we  have  a 
spirit  as  well  as  a  flesh,  an  immortal  soul.  If  any  one 
asks,  what  is  a  man?  the  true  answer  is,  an  animal 
with  an  immortal  spirit  in  it;  and  this  spirit  can 
feel  more  than  pleasure  and  pain,  which  are  mere- 
carnal,  that  is,  fleshly  things ;  it  can  feel  trust,  and 
hope,  and  peace,  and  love,  and  purity,  and  noble- 
ness, and  independence,  and,  above  all,  it  can  feel 
right  and  wrong.  There  is  the  infinite  difference 
between  an  animal  and  a  man,  between  our  flesh 
and  our  spirit ;  an  animal  has  no  sense  of  right  and 
wrong ;  a  dog  who  has  done  wrong  is  often,  terrified , 


VI.]  THE  SPIRIT  AND  THE  FLESH.  73 

but  not  because  he  feels  it  wrong  and  wicked,  but 
because  he  knows  from  experience  that  he  will  be 
punished  for  doing  it:  just  so  with  a  man's  fleshly 
nature; — a  carnal,  fleshly  man,  a  man  whose  spirit 
is  dead  within  him,  whose  spiritual  sense  of  right 
and  wrong,  and  honour  and  purity,  is  gone,  when 
he  has  done  a  wrong  thing,  is  often  enough 
afraid;  but  why?  Not  for  any  spiritual  reason, 
not  because  he  feels  it  a  wicked  and  abominable 
thing,  a  sin,  but  because  he  is  afraid  of  being 
punished  for  it,  because  he  is  afraid  that  his  body, 
his  flesh,  will  be  punished  by  the  laws  of  the  land,  or 
by  public  opinion,  or  because  he  has  some  dim  belief 
that  this  same  body  and  flesh  of  his  will  be  burnt 
in  hell-fire;  and  fire,  he  knows  by  experience,  is  a 
painful  thing — and  so  he  is  afraid  of  it;  there  is  no- 
thing spiritual  in  all  that, — that  is  all  fleshly,  carnal; 
the  heathen  in  all  ages  have  been  afraid  of  hell- 
fire;  but  a  man's  spirit,  on  the  other  hand,  if  it  be 
in  hell,  is  in  a  very  different  hell  from  mere  fire, — 
a  spiritual  hell,  such  as  torments  the  evil  spirits,  at 
this  very  moment,  although  they  are  going  to  and 
fro  on  this  very  earth.  This  earth  is  hell  to  them ; 
they  carry  about  hell  in  them, — they  are  their  own 
hell.  Everlasting  shame,  discontent,  doubt,  despair, 
rage,  disgust  at  themselves,  feeling  that  they  are  out 
of  favour  with  God,  out  of  tune  with  heaven  and  earth, 
loving  nothing,  believing  nothing,  ever  hating,  hating 
each  other,  hating  themselves  most  of  all — there  is 
7* 


74  THE  SPIRIT  AND  THE  FLESH.  [SEEM. 

their  hell !  There  is  the  hell  in  which  the  soul  of 
every  wicked  man  is, — ay,  is  now  while  he  is  in 
this  life,  though  he  will  only  awake  to  the  perfect 
misery  of  it  after  death,  when  his  body  and  fleshly 
nature  have  mouldered  away  in  the  grave,  and  can 
no  longer  pamper  and  stupify  him  and  make  him 
forget  his  own  misery.  Ay,  there  has  been  many 
a  man  in  this  life  who  had  every  fleshly  enjoyment 
which  this  world  can  give,  riches  and  pleasure,  ban- 
quets and  palaces,  every  sense  and  every  appetite 
pampered, — his  pride  and  his  vanity  flattered;  who 
never  knew  what  want,  or  trouble,  or  contradic- 
tion was  on  the  smallest  point;  a  man,  I  say,. 
who  had  every  carnal  enjoyment  which  this  earth 
can  give  to  a  man's  selfish  flesh,  and  yet  whose 
spirit  was  in  hell  all  the  while,  and  who  knew  it; 
hating  and  despising  himself  for  a  mean,  selfish 
villain,  while  all  the  world  round  was  bowing  down 
to  him  and  envying  him  as  the  luckiest  of  men. 
I  am  trying  to  make  you  understand  the  infinite- 
difference  between  a  man's  flesh  and  his  spirit;, 
how  a  man's  flesh  can  take  no  pleasure  in  spiritual 
things,  while  man's  spirit  of  itself  can  take  no 
pleasure  in  fleshly  things.  Now,  the  spirit  and 
the  flesh,  body  and  soul,  in  every  man,  are  at  war 
with  each  other, — they  have  quarrelled;  that  is 
the  corruption  of  our  nature,  the  fruit  of  Adam's 
fall.  And  as  the  Article  says,  and  as  every  man  who 
has  ever  tried  to  live  godly  well  knows,  from  ex^- 


VI.]  THE  SPIRIT  AND  THE  FLESH.  75 

perience,  "that  infection  of  nature  does  remain  to  the 
last,  even  in  those  who  are  regenerate."  So  that,  as 
St.  Paul  says,  the  spirit  lusteth  against  the  flesh,  and 
the  flesh  against  the  spirit ;  and  it  continually  hap- 
pens that  a  man  cannot  do  the  things  which  he  would ; 
he  cannot  do  what  he  knows  to  be  right:  thus,  as 
St.  Paul  says  again,  a  man  may  delight  in  the  law  of 
God  in  his  inward  man,  that  is,  in  his  spirit,  and 
yet  all  the  while  he  shall  find  another  law  in  his 
members,  i.  e.  in  his  body,  in  his  flesh,  in  his  brain 
which  thinks,  and  his  heart  which  feels,  and  his 
senses  which  are  fond  of  pleasure;  and  this  law 
of  the  flesh,  these  appetites  and  passions  which 
he  has,  like  other  animals,  fight  against  the  law 
of  his  mind,  and  when  he  wishes  to  do  good, 
make  him  do  evil.  Now  how  is  this?  The  flesh 
is  not  evil;  a  man's  body  can  be  no  more  wicked 
than  a  dumb  beast  can  be  wicked.  St.  Paul  calls 
man's  flesh  sinful  flesh;  not  because  our  flesh  can 
sin  of  itself,  but  because  our  sinful  souls  make  our 
flesh  do  sinful  things;  for,  he  says,  Christ  came  in 
the  likeness  of  sinful  flesh,  and  yet  in  him  was  no 
sin.  The  pure  and  spotless  Saviour  could  not  have 
taken  man's  flesh  upon  him  if  there  was  any  sinful- 
ness in  it.  The  body  knows  nothing  of  right  and 
wrong;  it  is  not  subject  to  the  law  of  God,  neither, 
indeed,  can  be,  says  St.  Paul.  And  why?  Because 
God's  law  is  spiritual;  deals  with  right  and  wrong. 
Wickedness,  like  righteousness,  is  a  spiritual  thing. 


76  THE  SPIRIT  AND  THE  FLESH-  [SERM. 

If  a  man  sins,  his  body  is  not  in  fault;  it  is  his 
spirit ;  his  weak,  perverse  will,  which  will  sooner 
listen  to  what  his  flesh  tells  him  is  pleasant  than  to 
what  God  tells  him  is  right ;  for  this,  my  friends,  is 
the  secret  of  the  battle  of  life.  We  stand  between 
heaven  and  earth.  Above  is  God's  Spirit  striving 
with  our  spirits,  speaking  to  them  in  the  depths  of 
our  soul,  showing  us  what  is  right,  putting  into  our 
hearts  good  desires,  making  us  long  to  be  honest 
and  just,  pure  and  manful,  loving  and  charitable; 
for  who  is  there  who  has  not  at  times  longed  after 
these  things,  and  felt  that  it  would  be  a  blessed 
thing  for  him  if  he  were  such  a  man  as  Jesus  Christ 
was  and  is  ?  Above  us,  I  say,  is  God's  Spirit  speak- 
ing to  our  spirits;  below  us  is  the  world  speaking 
to  our  flesh,  as  it  spoke  to  Eve's,  saying  to  us, 
"  This  thing  is  pleasant  to  the  eyes — this  thing  is 
good  for  food — that  thing  is  to  be  desired  to  make 
you  wise,  and  to  flatter  your  vanity  and  self-conceit." 
Below  us,  I  say,  is  this  world,  tempting  us  to  ease, 
and  pleasure,  and  vanity;  and  in  the  middle,  betwixt 
the  two,  stands  up  the  third  part  of  man — his  soul 
and  will,  set  to  choose  between  the  voice  of  God's 
Spirit  and  the  temptations  of  this  world — to  choose 
between  what  is  right  and  what  is  pleasant — to  choose 
whether  he  will  obey  the  desires  of  the  spirit,  or  obey 
the  desires  of  the  flesh.  He  must  choose.  If  he  lets 
his  flesh  conquer  his  spirit,  he  falls;  if  he  lets  his 
spirit  conquer  his  flesh,  he  rises;  if  he  lets  his  flesh 


VI.]  THE  SPIRIT  AND  THE  FLESH.  77 

conquer  his  spirit,  lie  becomes  what  he  was  not 
meant  to  be— a  slave  to  fleshly  lust ;  and  then  he 
will  find  his  flesh  set  up  for  itself,  and  work  for 
itself.     And  where  man's  flesh  gets  the  upper  hand, 
and  takes  possession  of  him,  it  can  do  nothing  but 
evil_not  that  it  is  evil  in  itself,  but  that  it  has  no 
rule,  no  law  to  go  by;  it  does  not  know  right  from 
wrong ;  and  therefore  it  does  simply  what  it  likes, 
as  a  dumb  beast  or  an  idiot  might;  and  therefore 
the  works  of  the  flesh  are— adulteries,  drunkenness, 
murders,  fornications,  envyings,  backbitings,  strife. 
When  a  man's  body,  which  God  intended  to  be 
the  servant  of  his  spirit,  has  become  the  tyrant  of 
his  spirit,  it  is  like  an  idiot  on  a  king's  throne, 
doing  all  manner  of  harm  and  folly  without  know- 
ing that  it  is  harm  and  folly.     That  is  not  its  fault. 
Whose  fault  is  it,  then?      Our  fault— the  fault  of 
our  wills  and  our  souls.     Our  souls  were  intended 
to  be  the  masters  of  our  flesh,  to  conquer  all  the 
weaknesses,   defilements  of  our  constitution — our 
tempers,  our  cowardice,  our  laziness,  our  hastiness, 
our  nervousness,  our  vanity,  our  love  of  pleasure — 
to  listen  to  our  spirits,  because  our  spirits  learn 
from  God's  Spirit  what  is  right  and  noble.    But  if 
we  let  our  flesh  master  us,  and  obey  its  own  blind 
lusts,  we  sin  against  God ;  and  we  sin  against  God 
doubly;  for  we  not  only  sin  against  God's  com- 
mandments, but  we  sin  against  ourselves,  who  are 
the  image  and  glory  of  God. 


78  THE  SPIRIT  AND  THE  FLESH.  [SERM. 

Believe  this,  my  friends;  believe  that,  because 
you  are  all  fallen  human  creatures,  there  must  go 
on  in  you  this  sore  life-long  battle  between  your 
spirit  and  your  flesh — your  spirit  trying  to  be  mas- 
ter and  guide,  as  it  ought  to  be,  and  your  flesh  rebel- 
ling and  trying  to  conquer  your  spirit  and  make  you 
a  mere  animal,  like  a  fox  in  cunning,  a  peacock  in 
vanity,  or  a  hog  in  greedy  sloth.  But  believe,  too, 
that  it  is  your  sin  and  your  shame  if  your  spirit  does 
not  conquer  your  flesh — for  God  has  promised  to  help 
your  spirits.  Ask  Him,  and  His  Spirit  will  teach 
them — fill  them  with  pure,  noble  hopes,  with  calm, 
clear  thoughts,  and  with  deep,  unselfish  love  to  God 
and  man.  He  will  strengthen  your  wills,  that  they 
may  be  able  to  refuse  the  evil  and  choose  the  good. 
Ask  Him,  and  He  will  join  them  to  His  own  Spirit 
— to  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  your  Master:  for  he  that 
is  joined  unto  the  Lord  is  one  spirit  with  Him.  Ask 
him,  and  He  will  give  you  the  mind  of  Christ — teach 
you  to  see  and  feel  all  matters  as  Christsees and  feels 
them.  Ask  Him,  and  He  will  give  you  wisdom  to 
listen  to  His  Spirit  when  it  teaches  your  spirit,  and 
then  you  will  be  able  to  wTalk  after  the  Spirit,  and 
not  obey  the  lusts  of  the  flesh;  and  you  will  be  able 
to  crucify  the  flesh  with  its  passions  and  lusts,  that 
is,  to  make  it,  what  it  ought  to  be,  a  dead  thing — 
a  dead  tool  for  your  spirit  to  work  with  manfully  and 
godly,  and  not  a  live  tyrant  to  lead  you  into  brutish- 
ness  and  folly;  and  then  you  will  find  that  the  fruit 


VI.]  THE  SPIRIT  AND  THE  FLESH.  79 

of  the  spirit,  of  your  spirit  led  by  God's  Spirit,  is 
really,  as  St.  Paul  says,  "love,  joy,  peace,  long-suf- 
fering, gentleness,  honesty" — "whatsoever  things 
are  true,  "whatsoever  things  are  honourable  and  of 
good  report;"  and  instead  of  being  the  miserable 
slaves  of  your  own  passions,  and  of  the  opinions 
of  your  neighbours,  you  will  find  that,  where  the 
Spirit  of  the  Lord  is,  there  is  liberty,  true  freedom, 
not  only  from  your  neighbours'  sins,  but,  what  is  far 
better,  freedom  from  your  own. 

These  are  large  words,  my  friends,  and  promise 
mighty  things.  But  I  dare  speak  them  to  you, 
for  God  has  spoken  to  you.  These  promises  God 
made  you  at  your  baptism;  these  promises  I,  on 
the  warrant  of  your  baptism,  dare  make  to  you 
again.  At  your  baptism,  God  gave  you  the  right 
to  call  Him  your  loving  Father,  to  call  His  Son  your 
Saviour,  His  Spirit  your  Sanctifier.  And  He  is  not 
a  man,  that  He  should  lie ;  nor  the  son  of  man,  that 
He  should  repent.  Try  Him,  and  see  whether  He 
will  not  fulfil  His  word.  Claim  His  promise,  and 
though  you  have  fallen  lower  than  the  brutes,  He 
will  make  men  and  women  of  you.  He  will  be  faith- 
ful and  just  to  forgive  you  your  sins,  and  to  cleanse 
you  from  all  unrighteousness. 


SERMON  VII. 


RETKIBUTION. 

"Be  sure  your  sin  will  find  you  out." — Numbers  xxxii.  23. 

The  full  meaning  of  this  text  is,  that  every  sin 
which  a  man  commits  is  certain,  sooner  or  later, 
to  come  home  to  him  with  fearful  interest. 

Moses  gave  this  warning  to  two  tribes  of  the 
Israelites, — to  the  Reubenites  and  Gradites,  who  had 
promised  to  go  over  Jordan,  and  help  their  country- 
men in  war  against  the  heathen,  on  condition  of 
being  allowed  to  return  and  settle  on  the  east  bank 
of  Jordan,  where  they  then  were  ;  but  if  they  broke 
their  promise,  and  returned  before  the  end  of  the 
war,  they  were  to  be  certain  that  their  sin  would 
find  them  out;  that  God  would  avenge  their  false- 
hood on  them  in  some  way  in  their  lifetime  :  in 
their  lifetime,  I  say,  for  there  is  no  mention  made 
in  this  chapter,  or  in  any  part  of  the  story,  of  hea- 
ven or  hell,  or  any  world  to  come.  And  the  text  has 
been  always  taken  as  a  fair  warning  to  all  gene- 


SERM.  VII.]  RETRIBUTION.  81 

rations  of  men,  that  their  sin  also,  even  in  their 
lifetimes,  will  be  visited  upon  them. 

Now,  it  is  strange,  at  first  sight,  that  these  texts, 
which  warn  men  that  their  sins  will  be  punished  in 
this  life,  are  just  the  most  unpleasant  texts  in  the 
whole  Bible;  that  men  shrink  from  them  more,  and 
shut  their  eyes  to  them  more  than  they  do  to  those 
texts  which  threaten  them  with  hell-fire  and  ever- 
lasting death.  Strange ! — that  men  should  be  more 
afraid  of  being  punished  in  this  life  for  a  few  years 
than  in  the  life  to  come  for  ever  and  ever; — and  yet 
not  strange  if  we  consider;  for  to  worldly  and  sinful 
souls,  that  life  after  death  and  the  flames  of  hell 
seem  quite  distant  and  dim — things  of  which  they 
know  little  and  believe  less,  while  this  world  they 
do  know,  they  are  quite  certain  that  its  good  things 
are  pleasant  and  its  bad  things  unpleasant,  and  they 
are  thoroughly  afraid  of  losing  them.  Their  hearts 
are  where  their  treasure  is,  in  this  world;  and  a 
punishment  which  deprives  them  of  this  world's 
good  things  hits  them  home :  but  their  treasure  is 
not  in  heaven,  and,  therefore,  about  losing  heaven 
they  are  by  no  means  so  much  concerned.  And  thus 
they  can  face  the  dreadful  news  that  "the  wicked 
shall  be  turned  into  hell,  and  all  the  people  that 
forget  God;"  while,  as  for  the  news  that  the  wicked 
shall  be  recompensed  on  the  earth,  that  their  sins 
will  surely  find  them  out  in  this  life,  they  cannot  face 
that, — they  shut  their  ears  to  it, — they  try  to  per- 
8   " 


82  RETRIBUTION.  [SERM. 

suade  themselves  that  sin  will  fay  them  here,  at  all 
events;  and  as  for  hereafter,  they  shall  get  off  some- 
how,— they  neither  know  nor  care  much  how. 

Yet  God's  truth  remains,  and  God's  truth  must 
be  heard;  and  those  who  love  this  world  so  well 
must  be  told,  whether  they  like  or  not,  that  every 
sin  which  they  commit,  every  mean,  every  selfish, 
every  foul  deed,  loses  them  so  much  enjoyment  in 
this  very  present  world  of  which  they  are  so  mighty 
fond.  That  is  God's  truth ;  and  I  will  prove  it  true 
from  common  sense,  from  Holy  Scripture,  and  from 
the  tvitness  of  men's  own  hearts. 

Take  common  sense.  Does  not  common  sense  tell 
us  that  if  God  made  this  world,  and  governs  it  by 
righteous  and  God-like  laws,  this  must  be  a  world  in 
which  evil-doing  cannot  thrive  ?  God  made  the  world 
better  than  that,  surely !  He  would  be  a  bad  law- 
giver who  made  such  laws,  that  it  was  as  well  to 
break  them  as  to  keep  them.  You  would  call  them 
bad  laws,  surely !  No ;  God  made  the  world,  and  not 
the  devil;  and  the  world  works  by  God's  laws,  and 
not  the  devil's;  and  it  inclines  towards  good,  and 
not  towards  evil ;  and  he  who  sins,  even  in  the  least, 
breaks  God's  laws,  acts  contrary  to  the  rule  and 
constitution  of  the  world,  and  will  surely  find  that 
God's  laws  will  go  on  in  spite  of  him,  and  grind  him 
to  powder,  if  he  by  sinning  gets  in  the  way  of  them. 
God  has  no  need  to  go  out  of  His  way  to  punish  our 
evil  deeds.     Let  them  alone,  and  they  will  punish 


VII.]  RETRIBUTION.  83 

themselves.  Is  it  not  so  in  every  thing?  If  a 
tradesman  trades  badly,  or  a  farmer  farms  badly, 
there  is  no  need  of  lawyers  to  punish  him ;  he  will 
punish  himself.  Every  mistake  he  makes  will  take 
money  out  of  his  pocket;  every  time  he  offends 
against  the  established  rules  of  trade  or  agriculture, 
which  are  God's  laws,  he  injures  himself;  and  so,  be 
sure,  it  is  in  the  world  at  large, — in  the  world  in 
which  men  and  the  souls  of  men  live,  and  move,  and 
have  their  being. 

Next,  to  speak  of  Scripture.  I  might  quote  texts 
innumerable  to  prove  that  what  I  say  Scripture  says 
also.  Consider  but  this  one  thing, — that  there  is  a 
whole  book  in  the  Bible  written  to  prove  this  one 
thing, — that  our  good  and  bad  deeds  are  repaid  us 
with  interest  in  this  life — the  Proverbs  of  Solomon 
I  mean — in  which  there  is  little  or  no  mention  of 
heaven  or  hell,  or  any  world  to  come.  It  is  all  one 
noble,  and  awful,  and  yet  cheering  sermon  on  that 
one  text,  "  The  righteous  shall  be  recompensed  in 
the  earth,  much  more  the  wicked  and  the  sinner," — 
put  in  a  thousand  different  lights;  brought  home  to 
us  a  thousand  different  roads,  comes  the  same  ever- 
lasting doom, —  "Vain  man,  who  thinkest  that  thou 
canst  live  in  God's  world  and  yet  despise  His  will, 
know  that,  in  every  smiling,  comfortable  sin,  thou  art 
hatching  an  adder  to  sting  thee  in  the  days  of  old 
age,  to  poison  thy  cup  of  sinful  joy,  even  when 
it  is  at  thy  lips;  to  haunt  thy  restless  thoughts, 


84  RETRIBUTION.  [SERM. 

and  dog  thee  day  and  night;  to  rise  up  before  thee, 
in  the  silent,  sleepless  hours  of  night,  like  an  angry 
ghost  ?  An  awful  foretaste  of  the  doom  that  is  to 
come ;  and  yet  a  merciful  foretaste,  if  thou  wilt  be 
but  taught  by  the  disappointment,  the  unsatisfied 
craving,  the  gnawing  shame  of  a  guilty  conscience, 
to  see  the  heinousness  of  sin,  and  would  turn 
before  it  be  too  late." 

What,  my  friends, — what  will  you  make  of  such 
texts  as  this:  that  "he  who  soweth  to  the  flesh 
shall  of  the  flesh  reap  corruption  ?"  Do  you  not  see 
that  comes  true  far  too  often  ?  Can  it  help  alivays 
coming  true,  seeing  that  God's  apostle  spoke  it? 
What  will  you  make  of  this,  too:  that  "the  wicked 
is  snared  by  the  working  of  his  own  hands;"  — 
that  "evil'' — the  evil  which  we  do  of  its  own  self 
— "shall  slay  the  wicked?"  What  says  the  wThole 
noble  87th  Psalm  of  David,  but  that  same  awful  truth 
of  God,  that  sin  is  its  own  punishment? 

Why  should  I  go  on  quoting  texts?  Look  for 
yourselves,  you  wTho  fancy  that  it  is  only  on  the 
other  side  of  the  grave  that  God  will  trouble  Himself 
about  you  and  your  meanness,  your  profligacy,  your 
falsehood.  Look  for  yourselves  in  the  book  of  God, 
and  see  if  there  be  any  wTriter  there, — lawgiver,  pro- 
phet, psalmist,  apostle,  up  to  Christ  the  Lord  Him- 
self,— who  does  not  warn  men  again  and  again,  that 
here,  on  earth,  their  sins  will  find  them  out.  Our 
Saviour,  indeed,  when  on  earth,  said  less  about  this 


VII.]  RETRIBUTION.  85 

subject  than  any  of  the  prophets  before  Him,  or  the 
apostles  after  him,  and  for  the  best  of  reasons. 
The  Jews  had  got  rooted  in  their  minds  a  super- 
stitions notion,  that  all  disease,  all  sorrow,  was  the 
punishment  in  each  case  of  some  particular  sin;  and 
thus,  instead  of  looking  with  pity  and  loving  awe 
upon  the  sick  and  the  afflicted,  they  were  accus- 
tomed, too  often,  to  turn  from  them  as  sinners, 
smitten  of  God,  bearing  in  their  distress  the  token 
of  His  anger.  The  blessed  One, — He  who  came  to 
heal  the  sick  and  save  the  lost, — reproved  that  error 
more  than  once.  When  the  disciples  fancied  a  cer- 
tain poor  man's  blindness  to  be  a  judgment  from 
God,  "Neither  did  he  sin,"  said  the  Lord,  unor 
his  parents,  but  that  the  glory  of  God  might  be 
made  manifest  in  him."  And  yet,  on  the  other 
hand,  when  He  healed  a  certain  man  of  an  old  in- 
firmity at  the  pool  of  Bethesda,  what  were  His 
words  to  him?  aGo  thy  way;  sin  no  more,  lest  a 
worse  thing  come  unto  thee ; " — a  clear  and  weighty 
warning  that  all  his  long  misery  of  eight-and-thirty 
years  had  been  the  punishment  of  some  sin  of  his, 
and  that  the  sin  repeated  would  bring  on  him  a  still 
severer  judgment. 

What,  again,  does  the  apostle  mean,  in  the  Epistle 
to  the  Hebrews,  when  he  tells  us  how  God  scourges 
every  son  whom  he  receives,  and  talks  of  His  chas- 
tisements, whereof  all  are  partakers.  Why  do  we 
need  chastising  if  we  have  nothing  which  needs 
8* 


86  RETRIBUTION.  [SERM. 

mending?  And  though  the  innocent  may  sometimes 
be  afflicted  to  make  them  strong  as  well  as  innocent, 
and  the  holy  chastened  to  make  them  humble  as  well 
as  holy,  yet  if  the  good  cannot  escape  their  share  of 
affliction,  how  will  the  bad  get  off?  "  If  the  righteous 
scarcely  be  saved,  where  will  the  ungodly  and  the 
sinner  appear?"  But  what  use  in  arguing  when 
you  know  that  my  words  are  true?  You  know  that 
your  sins  will  find  you  out.  Look  boldly  and  ho- 
nestly into  your  own  hearts.  Look  through  the 
history  of  your  past  lives,  and  confess  to  God,  at 
least,  that  the  far  greater  number  of  your  sorrows 
have  been  your  own  fault;  that  there  is  hardly  a 
day's  misery  which  you  ever  endured  in  your  life 
of  which  you  might  not  say,  '  If  I  had  listened  to 
the  voice  of  God  in  my  conscience — if  I  had  ear- 
nestly considered  what  my  duty  was — if  I  had  prayed 
to  God  to  determine  my  judgment  aright,  I  should 
have  been  spared  this  sorrow  now?'  Am  I  not 
right?  Those  who  know  most  of  God  and  their 
own  souls  will  agree  most  with  me;  those  who  know 
little  about  God  and  their  own  souls  will  agree  but 
hardly  with  me,  for  they  provoke  God's  chastise- 
ments, and  writhe  under  them  for  the  time,  and 
then  go  and  do  the  same  wrong  again,  as  the  wild 
beast  will  turn  and  bite  the  stone  thrown  at  him 
without  having  the  sense  to  see  why  it  was  thrown. 
Think,  again,  of  your  past  lives,  and  answer  in 
God's  sight,  how  many  wrong  things  have  you  ever 


VII.]  RETRIBUTION.  87 

done  which  have  succeeded,  that  is,  how  many  sins 
which  you  would  not  be  right  glad  were  undone  if  you 
could  but  put  back  the  wheels  of  Time?  They  may 
have  succeeded  outwardly ;  meanness  will  succeed 
so —  lies — oppression  —  theft — adultery — drunken- 
ness— godlessness — they  are  all  pleasant  enough 
while  they  last,  I  suppose;  and  a  man  may  reap 
what  he  calls  substantial  benefits  from  them  in 
money,  and  such  like,  and  keep  that  safe  enough; 
but  has  his  sin  succeeded?  Has  it  not  found him 
out?  —  found  him  out  never  to  lose  him  again? 
Is  he  the  happier  for  it?  Does  he  feel  freer  for  it? 
Does  he  respect  himself  the  more  for  it  ? — No !  And 
even  though  he  may  prosper  now,  yet  does  there  not 
run  through  all  his  selfish  pleasure  a  certain  fearful 
looking  forward  to  a  fiery  judgment  to  which  he 
would  gladly  shut  his  eyes,  but  cannot? 

Cunning,  fair-spoken  oppressor  of  the  poor,  has 
not  thy  sin  found  thee  out?  Then  be  sure  it  will. 
In  the  shame  of  thine  own  heart  it  will  find  thee 
out; — in  the  curses  of  the  poor  it  will  find  thee  out; 
— in  a  friendless,  restless,  hopeless  death-bed,  thy 
covetousness  and  thy  cruelty  will  glare  before  thee 
in  their  true  colours,  and  thy  sin  will  find  thee  out ! 

Profligate  woman,  who  art  now  casting  away  thy 
honest  name,  thy  self-respect,  thy  womanhood,  thy 
baptism-vows,  that  thou  mayest  enjoy  the  foul  plea- 
sures of  sin  for  a  season,  has  not  thy  sin  found  thee 
out?     Then  be  sure  it  will  hereafter,  when  thou 


88  RETRIBUTION.  [SERM. 

hast  become  disgusted  at  thyself  and  thine  own 
infamy, — and  youth,  and  health,  and  friends,  are 
gone,  and  a  shameful  and  despised  old  age  creeps 
over  thee,  and  death  stalks  nearer  and  nearer,  and 
God  vanishes  farther  and  farther  off,  then  thy  sin 
will  find  thee  out ! 

Foolish,  improvident  young  man,  who  art  wast- 
ing the  noble  strength  of  youth,  and  manly  spirits 
which  God  has  given  thee  on  sin  and  folly,  throw- 
ing away  thine  honest  earnings  in  cards  and 
drunkenness,  instead  of  laying  them  by  against  a 
time  of  need — has  not  thy  sin  found  thee  out? 
Then  be  sure  it  will  some  day,  when  thou  hast  to 
bring  home  thy  bride  to  a  cheerless,  unfurnished 
house,  and  there  to  live  from  hand  to  mouth, — with- 
out money  to  provide  for  her  sickness, — without 
money  to  give  her  the  means  of  keeping  things 
neat  and  comfortable  when  she  is  well, — without  a 
farthing  laid  by  against  distress,  and  illness,  and  old 
age ; — then  your  sin  will  find  you  out :  then,  perhaps, 
my  text, — my  words — may  come  across  you  as  you 
sigh  in  vain  in  your  comfortless  home,  in  your  im- 
poverished old  age,  for  the  money  which  you  wasted 
in  your  youth!  My  friends,  my  friends,  for  your 
own  sakes  consider,  and  mend  ere  that  day  come,  as 
else  it  surely  will ! 

And,  lastly,  you  who,  without  running  into  any 
especial  sins,  as  those  which  the  world  calls  sins,  still 
live  careless  about  religion,  without  loyalty  to  Christ 


VII.]  RETRIBUTION.  89 

the  Lord,  without  any  honest  attempt,  or  even  wish, 
to  serve  the  God  above  you,  or  to  rejoice  in  remem- 
bering that  you  are  His  children,  working  for  Him 
and  under  Him, — be  sure  your  sin  will  find  you  out. 
When  affliction,  or  sickness,  or  disappointment  come, 
as  come  they  will,  if  God  has  not  cast  you  off; — 
when  the  dark  day  dawns,  and  your  fool's  paradise 
of  worldly  prosperity  is  cut  away  from  under  your 
feet,  then  you  will  find  out  your  folly — you  will  find 
that  you  have  insulted  the  only  Friend  who  can  bring 
you  out  of  affliction — cast  off  the  only  comfort  which 
can  strengthen  you  to  bear  affliction — forgotten  the 
only  knowledge  which  will  enable  you  to  be  the  wiser 
for  affliction.  Then,  I  say,  the  sin  of  your  godless- 
ness  will  find  you  out;  if  you  do  not  intend  to  fall, 
soured  and  sickened  merely  by  God's  chastisements, 
either  into  stupid  despair  or  peevish  discontent,  you 
will  have  to  go  back,  to  go  back  to  God  and  cry, 
"Father,  I  have  sinned  against  heaven  and  before 
Thee,  and  am  no  more  worthy  to  be  called  Thy 
son." 

Go  back  at  once  before  it  be  too  late.  Find  out 
your  sins  and  mend  them — before  they  find  you  out, 
and  break  your  hearts. 


SERMON  VIII. 


SELF-DESTRUCTION. 

The  Lord  hath  put.  a  lying  spirit  in  the  mouth  of  all  these  thy 
prophets." — 1  Kings,  xxii.  23. 

The  chapter  from  which  my  text  is  taken,  which 
is  the  first  lesson  for  this  evening's  service,  is  a 
very  awful  chapter,  for  it  gives  us  an  insight  into  the 
meaning  of  that  most  awful  and  terrible  word — 
temptation.  And  yet  it  is  a  most  comforting  chap- 
ter, for  it  shows  us  how  God  is  long-suffering  and 
merciful,  even  to  the  most  hardened  sinner;  how  to 
the  last  He  puts  before  him  good  and  evil,  to  choose 
between  them,  and  warns  him  to  the  last  of  his  path, 
and  the  ruin  to  which  it  leads. 

We  read  of  Ahab  in  the  first  lesson  this  morning 
as  a  thoroughly  wicked  man, — mean  and  weak,  cruel 
and  ungodly,  governed  by  his  wife  Jezebel,  a  heathen 
woman,  in  marrying  whom  he  had  broken  God's  law, 
— a  woman  so  famous  for  cruelty  and  fierceness, vanity 
and  wickedness,  that  her  name  is  a  by- word  even 


SERM.  VIII.]  SELF-DESTRUCTION.  91 


here  in  England  now — "as  bad  as  Jezebel,"  we 
say  to  this  day.  We  heard  of  Ahab  in  this  morn- 
ing's lesson  letting  Jezebel  murder  the  righteous 
Naboth,  by  perjury  and  slander,  to  get  possession  of 
his  vineyard;  and  then,  instead  of  shrinking  with 
abhorrence  from  his  wife's  iniquity,  going  down  and 
taking  possession  of  the  land  which  he  had  gained 
by  her  sin.  We  read  of  God's  curse  on  him,  and 
yet  of  God's  long-suffering  qjid  pardon  to  him  on  his 
repentance.  Yet,  neither  God's  curses  nor  God's 
mercy  seem  to  have  moved  him.  But  he  had  been 
always  the  same.  "He  did  evil,"  the  Bible  tells,  "in 
the  sight  of  the  Lord  above  all  that  were  before  him." 
He  deserted  the  true  God  for  his  wife's  idols  and 
false  gods :  and  in  spite  of  Elijah's  miracle  at  Carmel 
— of  which  you  heard  last  Sunday — by  which  he 
proved  by  fire  which  was  the  true  God,  and  in  spite 
of  the  wonderful  victory  which  God  had  given  him, 
by  means  of  one  of  God's  prophets,  over  the  Syrians, 
he  still  remained  an  idolater.  He  would  not  be 
taught,  nor  understand;  neither  God's  threats  nor 
mercies  could  move  him;  he  went  on  sinning  against 
light  and  knowledge ;  and  now  his  cup  was  full — 
his  days  were  numbered,  and  God's  vengeance  was 
ready  at  the  door. 

He  consulted  all  his  false  prophets  as  to  whether 
or  not  he  should  go  to  attack  the  Syrians  at  Ramoth- 
Gilead.  They  knew  what  to  say — they  knew  that 
their  business  was  to  prophesy  what  would  pay  them 


92  SELF-DESTRUCTION.  [SERM. 

— what  would  be  pleasant  to  him.  They  did  not  care 
whether  what  they  said  was  true  or  not — they  lied 
for  the  sake  of  gain,  for  the  Lord  had  put  a  lying 
spirit  into  their  mouths.  They  were  rogues  and  vil- 
lains from  the  first.  They  had  turned  prophets,  not 
to  speak  God's  truth,  but  to  make  money,  to  flatter 
King  Ahab,  to  get  themselves  a  reputation.  We  do 
not  hear  that  they  were  all  heathens.  Many  of  them 
may  have  believed  in  the  true  God.  But  they  were 
cheats  and  liars,  and  so  they  had  given  place  to  the 
devil,  the  father  of  lies :  and  now  he  had  taken  pos- 
session of  them  in  spite  of  themselves,  and  they  lied 
to  Ahab,  and  told  him  that  he  would  prosper  in  the 
battle  at  Ramoth-Gilead.  It  was  a  dangerous  thing 
for  them  to  say;  for  if  he  had  been  defeated,  and 
returned  disappointed,  his  rage  would  have  most  pro- 
bably fallen  on  them  for  deceiving  him.  And  as  in 
those  Eastern  countries  kings  do  whatever  they  like 
without  laws  or  parliaments,  Ahab  would  have  most 
likely  put  them  all  to  a  miserable  death  on  the 
spot.  But  however  dangerous  it  might  be  for  them 
to  lie,  they  could  not  help  lying.  A  spirit  of  lies  had 
seized  them,  and  they  who  began  by  lying,  because 
it  paid  them,  now  could  not  help  doing  so  whether 
it  paid  them  or  not. 

But  the  good  king  of  Judah,  Jehoshaphat,  had  no 
faith  in  these  flattering  villains.  He  asked  whether 
there  was  not  another  prophet  of  the  Lord  to  inquire 
of?     Ahab  told  him  that  there  was  one,  Micaiah 


VIII.]  SELF-DESTRUCTION.  93 

the  son  of  Imlah,  but  that  he  hated  him,  because  he 
only  prophesied  evil  of  him.  What  a  thorough  pic- 
ture of  a  hardened  sinner — a  man  who  has  become 
a  slave  to  his  own  lusts,  till  he  cares  nothing  for  a 
thing  being  true,  provided  only  it  is  pleasant ! 
Thus  the  wilful  sinner,  like  Ahab,  becomes  both  fool 
and  coward,  afraid  to  look  at  things  as  they  are; 
and  when  God's  judgments  stare  him  in  the  face, 
the  wretched  man  shuts  his  eyes  tight,  and  swears 
that  the  evil  is  not  there,  just  because  he  does  not 
choose  to  see  it. 

But  the  evil  was  there,  ready  for  Ahab,  and  it 
found  him.  "When  he  forced  Micaiah  to  speak, 
Micaiah  told  him  the  whole  truth.  He  told  him  a 
vision,  or  dream,  which  he  had  seen.  "Hear  thou 
therefore  the  word  of  the  Lord:  I  saw  the  Lord 
sitting  on  His  throne,  and  all  the  host  of  heaven 
standing  by  Him.  And  the  Lord  said,  Who  shall 
persuade  Ahab,  that  he  may  go  up  and  fall  at  Ra- 
moth-Gilead?  And  there  came  forth  a  spirit,  and 
said,  I  will  go  forth,  and  be  a  lying  spirit  in  the 
mouth  of  all  his  prophets.  And  the  Lord  said,  Thou 
shalt  persuade  him,  and  prevail  also:  go  forth,  and 
do  so.  Now  therefore,  behold,  the  Lord  hath  put  a 
lying  spirit  in  the  mouth  of  all  these  thy  prophets, 
and  the  Lord  hath  spoken  evil  concerning  thee." 

What  warning  could  be  more  awful,  and  yet  more 
plain?  Ahab  was  told  that  he  was  listening  to  a 
lie.  He  had  free  choice  to  follow  that  lie  or  not, 
9 


94  SELF-DESTRUCTION.  [SERM. 

and  he  did  follow  it.  After  having  put  Micaiah  into 
prison  for  speaking  the  truth  to  him,  he  went  up  to 
Ramoth-Gilead;  and  yet  he  felt  he  was  not  safe. 
He  had  his  doubts  and  his  fears.  He  would  not  go 
openly  into  the  battle,  but  disguised  himself,  hoping 
that  by  this  means  he  should  keep  himself  safe  from 
evil.  Fool!  God's  vengeance  could  not  be  stopped 
by  his  paltry  cunning.  In  spite  of  all  his  disguises, 
a  chance  shot  struck  him  down  between  the  joints 
of  his  armour.  His  chariot-driver  carried  him  out 
of  the  battle,  and  "  he  was  stayed  up  in  his  chariot 
against  the  Syrians,  and  died  at  even:  and  the 
blood  ran  out  of  his  wound  into  the  midst  of  the 
chariot.  And  one  washed  the  chariot  in  the  pool  of 
Samaria;  and  the  dogs  licked  up  his  blood  there," 
according  to  the  word  of  the  Lord,  which  he  spoke 
by  the  mouth  of  His  prophet  Elijah,  saying,  "In  the 
place  where  dogs  licked  the  blood  of  Naboth,  whom 
thou  slewest,  shall  dogs  lick  thy  blood,  even  thine." 
And  do  not  fancy,  my  friends,  that  because  this 
is  a  miraculous  story  of  ancient  times,  it  has  no- 
thing to  do  with  us.  All  these  things  were  written 
for  our  example.  This  chapter  tells  us  not  merely 
how  Ahab  was  tempted,  but  it  tells  us  how  we  are 
tempted,  every  one  of  us,  here  in  England,  in  these 
very  days.  As  it  was  with  Ahab,  so  it  is  with  us. 
Every  wilful  sin  that  we  commit  we  give  room  to  the 
devil.  Every  wrong  step  that  we  take  knowingly, 
we  give  a  handle  to  some  evil  spirit  to  lead  us  seven 


VIII.]  SELF-DESTRUCTION.  05 

steps  further  wrong.  And  yet  in  every  temptation 
God  gives  us  a  fair  chance.  He  is  no  cruel  tyrant 
who  will  deliver  us  over  to  the  devil,  to  be  led  help- 
less and  blindfold  to  our  ruin.  He  did  not  give 
Ahab  over  to  him  so.  He  sent  a  lying  spirit  to 
deceive  Ahab's  prophets,  that  Ahab  might  go  up  and 
fall  at  Ramoth-Gilead;  but  at  the  very  same  time, 
see,  he  sends  a  holy  and  a  true  man,  a  man  whom 
Ahab  could  trust,  and  did  trust  at  the  bottom  of  his 
heart,  to  tell  him  that  the  lie  was  a  lie,  to  warn  him 
of  his  ruin,  so  that  he  might  have  no  excuse  for  lis- 
tening to  those  false  prophets — no  excuse  for  follow- 
ing his  own  pride,  his  own  ambition,  to  his  destruc- 
tion. So  you  see,  "Let  no  man  say,  when  he  is 
tempted,  I  am  tempted  of  God,  for  God  tempteth  no 
man,  but  every  one  is  tempted  when  he  is  drawn  away 
by  his  own  lust,  and  enticed."  Ahab  was  led  away  by 
his  own  lust ;  his  cowardly  love  of  hearing  what  was 
pleasant  and  flattering  to  him,  rather  than  what  was 
true — rather  than  what  he  knew  he  deserved;  that 
was  what  enticed  him  to  listen  to  Zedekiah  and  the 
false  prophets,  rather  than  to  Micaiah  the  son  of 
Imlah.  That  is  what  entices  us  to  sin — the  lust  of 
believing  what  is  pleasant  to  us,  what  suits  our  own 
self-will — what  is  pleasant  to  our  bodies — pleasant 
to  our  purses — pleasant  to  our  pride  and  self-conceit. 
Then,  when  the  lying  spirit  comes  and  whispers  to  us, 
by  bad  thoughts,  by  bad  books,  by  bad  men,  that  we 
shall  prosper  in  our  wickedness,  does  God  leave  us 


96  SELF-DESTRUCTION.  [SERM 

alone  to  listen  to  those  evil  voices  without  warning 
No !  He  sends  His  prophets  to  us,  as  He  sent 
Micaiah  to  Ahab,  to  tell  us  that  the  wages  of  sin  is 
death — to  tell  us  that  those  who  sow  the  wind  shall 
reap  the  whirlwind — to  set  before  us  at  every  turn 
good  or  evil,  that  we  may  choose  between  them,  and 
live  or  die  according  to  our  choice.  For  do  not 
fancy  that  there  are  no  prophets  in  our  days,  unless 
the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  which  is  promised  to  all 
who  believe,  be  a  dream  and  a  lie.  There  are  pro- 
phets nowadays, — yea,  I  say  unto  you,  and  more 
than  prophets.  Is  not  the  Bible  a  prophet?  Is  not 
every  page  in  it  a  prophecy  to  us,  foretelling  God's 
mercies  and  God's  punishment  towards  men.  Is 
not  every  holy  and  wise  book,  every  holy  and  wise 
preacher  and  writer,  a  prophet  expounding  to  us 
God's  laws,  foretelling  to  us  God's  opinion  of  our 
deeds,  both  good  and  evil?  Ay,  is  not  every  man  a 
prophet  to  himself?  That  "still  small  voice"  in  a 
man's  heart,  which  warns  him  of  what  is  evil — that 
feeling  which  makes  him  cheerful  and  free  when  he 
has  done  right,  sad  and  ashamed  when  he  has 
done  wrong — is  not  that  a  prophecy  in  a  man's 
own  heart?  Truly  it  is.  It  is  the  voice  of  God 
within  us — it  is  the  Spirit  of  God  striving  with  our 
spirits,  whether  we  will  hear,  or  whether  we  will  for- 
bear— setting  beforfms  what  is  righteous,  and  noble, 
and  pure,  and  what  is  manly  and  God-like — to  see 
whether  we  will  obey  that  voice,  or  whether  we  will 


VIII.]  SELF-DESTRUCTIOX.  97 

obey  our  own  selfish  lusts,  which  tempt  us  to 
please  ourselves — to  pamper  ourselves,  our  greedi- 
ness, covetousness,  ambition,  or  self-conceit.  And 
again,  I  say,  we  have  our  prophets.  Every  preacher 
of  righteousness  is  a  prophet.  Every  good  tract  is 
a  prophet.  The  Prayer-book,  those  Psalms,  those 
Creeds,  those  Collects,  which  you  take  into  your 
mouths  every  Sunday,  what  are  they  but  written 
prophecies,  crying  unto  us  with  the  words  of  holy 
men  of  old,  greater  than  Micaiah,  or  David,  or  Eli- 
jah, "Hear  thou  the  word  of  the  Lord?"  The  spirits 
of  those  who  wrote  that  Prayer-book — the  spirits  of 
just  men  made  perfect,  filled  with  the  Spirit  of  the 
Lord — they  call  to  us  to  learn  the  wisdom  which 
they  knew,  to  avoid  the  temptations  which  they 
conquered,  that  wTe  may  share  in  the  glory  in  which 
they  shared  round  the  throne  of  Christ  for  evermore. 
And  if  you  ask  me  how  to  try  the  spirits,  how  to 
know  whether  your  own  thoughts,  whether  the  ser- 
mons which  you  hear,  the  books  which  you  read,  are 
speaking  to  you  God's  truth,  or  some  lying  spirit's 
falsehood,  I  can  only  answer  you,  "To  the  law  and 
to  the  testimony" — to  the  Bible;  if  they  speak  not 
according  to  that  word,  there  is  no  truth  in  them. 
But  how  to  understand  the  Bible?  for  the  fleshly 
man  understands  not  the  things  of  God.  The  fleshly 
man,  he  who  cares  only  about  pleasing  himself,  he 
who  goes  to  the  Bible  full  of  self-conceit  and  selfish- 
ness, wanting  the  Bible  to  tell  him  only  just  what  he 
9* 


98  SELF-DESTRUCTION.  [SERM.  VIII. 

likes  to  hear,  will  only  find  it  a  sealed  book  to  him, 
and  will  very  likely  wrest  the  Scriptures  to  his  own 
destruction.  Take  up  your  Bible  humbly,  praying 
to  God  to  show  you  its  meaning,  whether  it  be  plea- 
sant to  you  or  not,  and  then  you  will  find  that  God 
will  show  you  a  blessed  meaning  in  it;  He  will  open 
your  eyes,  that  you  may  understand  the  wondrous 
things  of  His  law ;  He  will  show  you  how  to  try  the 
spirit  of  all  you  are  taught,  and  to  find  out  whether 
it  comes  from  God. 


SERMON  IX 


HELL  ON  EARTH. 

"And  behold  the  evil  spirits  cried  out,  saying,  What  have  we  to  do 
with  Thee,  Jesus,  Thou  Son  of  God  ?  Art  Thou  come  hither 
to  torment  us  before  the  time?" — Matthew,  viii.  29. 

This  account  of  the  man  possessed  with  devils, 
and  of  his  language  to  our  Lord,  of  our  Lord's 
casting  the  devils  out  of  the  poor  sufferer,  and  His 
allowing  them  to  enter  into  a  herd  of  swine,  is  one 
that  is  well  worth  serious  thought;  and  I  think  a 
few  words  on  it  will  follow  fitly  after  my  last  Sun- 
day's sermon  on  Ahab  and  his  temptations  by  evil 
spirits.  In  that  sermon  I  showed  you  what  temper 
of  mind  it  was  which  laid  a  man  open  to  the  cun- 
ning of  evil  spirits;  I  wish  now  to  show  you  some- 
thing of  what  those  evil  spirits  are.  It  is  very  little 
that  we  can  know  about  them.  We  were  intended 
to  know  very  little,  just  as  much  as  would  enable  us 
to  guard  against  them,  and  no  more.  The  accounts 
of  them  in  the  Scriptures  are  for  our  use,  not  to 
satisfy  our  curiosity.    But  we  may  find  out  a  great 


100  HELL  ON  EARTH.  [SERM. 

deal  about  tliem  from  this  very  chapter,  from  this 
very  story,  which  is  repeated  almost  word  for  word 
in  three  different  Gospels,  as  if  to  make  us  more 
certain  of  so  curious  and  important  a  matter,  by 
having  three  distinct  and  independent  writers  to 
witness  for  its  truth.  I  advise  all  those  who  have 
Bibles  to  look  for  this  story  in  the  8th  chapter  of 
St.  Matthew,  and  follow  me  as  I  explain  it.* 

Now,  first,  we  may  learn  from  this  account,  that 
evil  spirits  are  real  persons.  There  is  a  notion  got 
abroad  that  it  is  only  a  figure  of  speech  to  talk  of 
evil  spirits,  that  all  the  Bible  means  by  them  are 
certain  bad  habits,  or  bad  qualities,  or  diseases. 
There  are  many  who  will  say  when  they  read  this 
story,  "This  poor  man  was  only  a  madman.  It 
was  the  fashion  of  the  old  Jews  when  a  man  was 
mad  to  say  that  he  was  possessed  by  evil  spirits. 
All  they  meant  was  that  the  man's  own  spirit  was 

*  "And  when  He  was  come  to  the  other  side,  into  the  country 
of  the  Gergesenes,  there  met  Him  two  possessed  with  devils, 
coming  out  of  the  tombs,  exceeding  fierce,  so  that  no  man  might 
pass  by  that  way.  And,  behold,  they  cried  out,  saying,  What 
have  we  do  with  Thee,  Jesus,  Thou  Son  of  God?  Art  Thou 
come  hither  to  torment  us  before  the  time  ?  And  there  was  a 
good  way  off  from  them  a  herd  of  many  swine  feeding.  So 
the  devils  besought  him,  saying,  If  Thou  cast  us  out,  suffer  us 
to  go  away  into  the  herd  of  swine.  And  He  said  unto  them,  Go. 
And  when  they  were  come  out,  they  went  into  the  herd  of 
swine:  and,  behold,  the  whole  herd  of  swine  ran  violently  down 
a  steep  place  into  the  sea,  and  perished  in  the  waters." 


IX."|  HELL  ON  EARTH.  101 

in  an  evil  diseased  state,  or  that  his  brain  and  mind 
were  out  of  order." 

When  I  hear  such  language— and  it  is  very  com- 
mon—I cannot  help  thinking  how  pleased  the  devil 
must  be  to  hear  people  talk  in  such  a  way.     How 
can  people  help  him  better  than  by  saying  that  there 
is  no  devil  ?    A  thief  would  be  very  glad  to  hear  you 
say,  " There  are  no  such  things  as  thieves;  it  is  all 
an  old  superstition,  so  I  may  leave  my  house  open  at 
night  without  danger;"  and  I  believe,  my  friends, 
from  the  very  bottom  of  my  heart,  that  this  new- 
fangled disbelief  in  evil  spirits  is  put  into  men's  hearts 
by  the  evil  spirits  themselves.     As  it  was  once  said, 
"  The  devil  had  tried  every  plan  to  catch  men's  souls, 
and  now,  as  the  last  and  most  cunning  trick  of  all, 
he  is  shamming  dead."     These  may  seem  homely 
words,  but  the  homeliest  words  are  very  often  the 
deepest.    I  advise  you  all  to  think  seriously  on  them. 
But  it  is  impossible  surely  to  read  this    story 
without  seeing  that  the  Bible  considers  evil   spirits 
as  distinct  persons,  just  as  much  as  each  one  of  us 
is  a  person,  and  that  our  Lord  spoke  to  them  and 
treated  them  as  persons.     "What  have  we  to  do 
with  Thee,  Jesus,  Thou  Son  of  God?     Art  thou 
come  hither  to  torment  us  before  the  time?"     And 
again,  "  If  Thou  cast  us  out,  suffer  us  to  go  into  the 
herd  of  swine  ?"     What  can  show  more  plainly  that 
there  were  some  persons  in  that  poor  man,  besides 


102  HELL  ON  EARTH.  [SERM. 

himself,  his  own  spirit,  his  own  person  ?  and  that 
he  knew  it,  and  Jesus  knew  it  too?  and  that  He 
spoke  to  these  spirits,  these  persons,  who  possessed 
that  man,  and  not  to  the  man  himself?  No  doubt 
there  was  a  terrible  confusion  in  the  poor  madman's 
mind  about  these  evil  spirits,  who  were  tormenting 
him,  making  him  miserable,  foul,  and  savage,  in 
mind  and  body— a  terrible  confusion!  We  find, 
when  Jesus  asked  him  his  name,  he  answers,  "Le- 
gion," that  is  an  army,  a  multitude,  "for  we  are 
many,"  he  says.  Again,  one  gospel  tells  us  that  he 
says,  "  What  have  I  to  do  with  Thee,  Jesus,  Thou 
Son  of  God?"  While  in  another  Gospel  we  are 
told  that  he  said,  "What  have  we  to  do  with  Thee? " 
He  seems  not  to  have  been  able  to  distinguish  be- 
tween his  own  spirit,  and  these  spirits  who  possessed 
him.  They  put  the  furious  and  despairing  thoughts 
into  his  heart;  they  spoke  through  his  mouth;  they 
made  a  slave  and  a  puppet  of  him.  But  though  he 
could  not  distinguish  between  his  own  soul  and  the 
devils  who  were  in  it,  Christ  could  and  Christ  did. 
The  man  says  to  Him,  or  rather  the  devils  make  the 
man  say  to  Him,  "If  Thou  cast  us  out,  suffer  us  to 
go  into  the  herd  of  swine,  and  drive  us  not  out  into 
the  deep."  What  did  Christ  answer  him?  Christ 
did  not  answer  him  as  our  so-called  wise  men  in  these 
days  would,  "My  good  man,  this  is  all  a  delusion,  and 
a  fancy  of  your  own,  about  your  having  evil  spirits  in 


IX.]  HELL  ON  EARTH.  103 

you — more  persons  than  one  in  you — for  you  are 
wrong  in  saying  we  of  yourself.  You  ought  to  say 
'I,'  as  every  one  else  does;  and  as  for  spirits  go- 
ing out  of  you,  or  going  into  a  herd  of  swine,  or 
any  thing  else,  that  is  all  a  superstition  and  a 
fancy.  There  is  nothing  to  eonie  out  of  you,  there 
is  nothing  in  you  except  yourself.  All  the  evil  in 
you  is  your  own,  the  disease  of  your  own  brain, 
and  the  violent  passions  of  your  own  heart.  Your 
brain  must  be  cured  by  medicine,  and  your  violent 
passions  tamed  down  by  care  and  kindness,  and 
then  you  will  get  rid  of  this  foolish  notion,  that 
you  have  evil  spirits  in  you,  and  calling  yourself  a 
multitude,  as  if  you  had  other  persons  in  you  be- 
sides yourself." 

Any  one  who  spoke  in  this  manner  nowadays 
would  be  thought  very  reasonable  and  very  kind. 
Why  did  not  our  Lord  speak  so  to  this  man,  for 
there  was  no  outward  difference  between  this  man's 
conduct  and  that  of  many  violent  mad  people  whom 
we  see  continually  in  our  land  ?  We  read,  that  this 
man  possessed  with  devils  would  wear  no  clothes; 
that  he  had  extraordinary  strength ;  that  he  would 
not  keep  company  with  other  men,  but  abode 
day  and  night  in  the  tombs,  exceedingly  fierce, 
crying  and  cutting  himself  with  stones,  trying,  in 
blind  rage,  which  he  could  not  explain  to  himself, 
to  hurt  himself  and  all  who  came  near  him.  And, 
above  all,  he  had  this  notion,  that  evil  spirits  had 


104  HELL  ON  EARTH.  [SERM. 

got  possession  of  him.  Now  every  one  of  these 
habits  and  fancies  you  may  see  in  many  raging 
maniacs  at  this  day. 

But  did  our  Lord  treat  this  man  as  we  treat  such 
maniacs  in  these  days  ?  He  took  the  man  at  his 
word,  and  more;  the  man  could  not  distinguish 
clearly  between  himself  and  the  evil  spirits,  but 
our  Lord  did.  When  the  devils  besought  him,  say- 
ing, "If  thou  cast  us  out,  suffer  us  to  go  into  the 
herd  of  swine,"  our  Lord  answers  "Go;"  and 
"when  they  were  cast  out,  they  went  into  the  herd 
of  swine;  and,  behold,  the  whole  herd  of  swine  ran 
violently  down  a  steep  place  into  the  sea,  and  pe- 
rished in  the  waters." 

It  was  as  if  our  Lord  had  meant  to  say  to  the 
bystanders, — ay  and  to  us,  and  to  all  people  in  all 
times  and  in  all  countries,  "This  poor  possessed 
maniac's  notion  was  a  true  one.  There  were  other 
persons  in  him  besides  himself,  tormenting  him, 
body  and  soul:  and,  behold,  I  can  drive  these  out 
of  him  and  send  them  into  something  else,  and 
leave  the  man  uninjured,  himself,  and  only  himself, 
again  in  an  instant,  without  any  need  of  long  edu- 
cation to  cure  him  of  his  bad  habits."  It  will  be  but 
reasonable,  then,  for  us  to  take  this  story  of  the  man 
possessed  by  devils,  as  written  for  our  example,  as 
an  instance  of  what  might,  and  perhaps  would,  hap- 
pen to  any  one  of  us,  were  it  not  for  God's  mercy. 

St.  Peter  tells  us  to  be  sober  and  watchful,  because 


IX.]  HELL  ON  EARTH.  105 

"  the  devil  goes  about  as  a  roaring  lion,  seeking 
whom  he  may  devour;"  and  when  we  look  at  the 
world  around,  we  may  surely  see  that  that  stands  as 
true  now  as  it  did  in  St.  Peter's  time.  Why,  again, 
did  St.  James  tell  us  to  resist  the  devil  if  the  devil 
be  not  near  us  to  resist?  Why  did  St.  Paul  take 
for  granted,  as  he  did,  that  Christian  men  were  of 
course  not  ignorant  of  Satan's  devices,  if  it  be  quite 
a  proof  of  enlightenment  and  superior  knowledge 
to  be  ignorant  of  his  devices — if  any  dread,  any 
thought,  even,  about  evil  spirits,  be  beneath  the 
attention  of  reasonable  men?  My  friends,  I  say 
fairly,  once  for  all,  that  that  common  notion,  that 
there  are  no  men  now  possessed  by  evil  spirits,  and 
that  all  those  stories  of  the  devil's  power  over  men, 
are  only  old,  worn-out  superstitions,  has  come  from 
this,  that  men  do  not  like  to  retain  God  in  their 
knowledge,  and  therefore,  as  a  necessary  conse- 
quence, do  not  like  to  retain  the  devil  in  their  know- 
ledge, because  they  would  be  very  glad  to  believe  in 
nothing  but  what  they  can  see,  and  taste,  and  han- 
dle ;  and  therefore  the  thought  of  unseen  evil  spirits, 
or  good  spirits  either,  is  a  painful  thing  to  them. 
First,  they  do  not  really  believe  in  angels,  minister- 
ing spirits,  sent  out  to  minister  to  the  heirs  of  sal- 
vation; then  they  begin  not  to  believe  in  evil  spirits. 
The  Bible  plainly  describes  their  vast  numbers;  but 
these  people  are  wiser  than  the  Bible,  and  only  talk 
of  one — of  the  devil,  as  if  there  were  not,  as  the  text 
10 


106  HELL  ON  EARTH.  [SERM. 

tells  us,  legions  and  armies  of  devils.  Then  they 
get  rid  of  that  one  devil  in  their  real  desire  to  be- 
lieve in  as  few  spirits  as  possible.  I  am  afraid  many 
of  them  have  gone  on  to  the  next  step,  and  got  rid 
of  the  one  God  out  of  their  thoughts  and  their  be- 
lief. I  said  I  am  afraid ;  I  ought  to  have  said  I  know 
that  they  have  done  so,  and  that  thousands  in  this 
day,  who  began  by  saying  evil  spirits  only  mean  cer- 
tain diseases  and  bad  habits  in  men,  have  ended  by 
saying,  "  God  only  means  certain  good  habits  in  man. 
God  is  no  more  a  person  than  the  evil  spirits  are 
persons."  I  warn  you  of  all  this,  my  friends,  be- 
cause, if  you  go  to  live  in  large  towns,  as  many  of 
you  will,  you  will  hear  talk  enough  of  this  sort  be- 
fore your  hairs  are  gray,  put  cleverly  and  eloquently 
enough:  for,  as  a  wise  man  said,  "The  devil  does 
not  send  fools  on  his  errands."  I  pray  God  that  if 
you  ever  do  hear  doctrines  of  that  kind,  some  of  my 
words  may  rise  in  your  mind  and  help  to  show  to 
you  the  evil  path  down  which  they  lead. 

We  may  believe,  then,  from  the  plain  words  of 
scripture,  that  there  are  vast  numbers  of  evil  spirits 
continually  tempting  men,  each  of  them  to  some 
particular  sin — to  worldliness,  for  instance;  for  we 
read  of  the  spirit  of  the  evil  world :  to  filthiness ; 
for  we  read  of  unclean  spirits :  to  falsehood ;  for  we 
read  of  lying  spirits  and  a  spirit  of  lies :  to  pride ; 
for  we  read  of  a  spirit  of  pride : — in  short,  to  all 
sins  which  a  man  can  commit,  to  all  evil  passions  to 


IX.]  HELL  ON  EARTH.  107 

which  a  man  can  give  way.  We  have  a  right  to 
believe,  from  the  plain  words  of  scripture,  that  these 
spirits  are  continually  wandering  up  and  down, 
tempting  men  to  sin.  That  wonderful  story  of  Job's 
temptation,  which  you  may  all  read  for  yourselves, 
in  the  first  chapter  of  the  book  of  Job,  is,  I  think, 
proof  enough  for  any  one. 

But  next — and  I  wish  you  to  pay  special  attention 
to  this  point — we  have  no  right  to  believe,  we  have 
every  right  not  to  believe,  that  these  evil  spirits  can 
make  us  sin  in  the  smallest  matter  against  our  own 
wills.  The  devil  cannot  put  a  single  sin  into  us; 
he  can  only  flatter  the  sinfulness  which  is  already 
in  us.  For,  see !  this  pride,  lust,  covetousness, 
falsehood,  and  so  on,  to  which  the  Bible  tells  us 
they  tempt  us,  have  roots  already  in  our  nature. 
Our  fallen  nature  of  itself  is  inclined  to  pride,  to 
worldliness,  and  so  on.  These  devils  tempt  us  by 
putting  in  our  way  the  occasion  to  sin,  by  suggest- 
ing to  us  tempting  thoughts  and  arguments  which 
lead  to  sin;  so  the  serpent  tempted  Eve,  not  by 
making  her  ambitious  and  self-willed,  but  by  using 
arguments  to  her  which  stirred  up  the  ambition  and 
self-will  in  her:  "Ye  shall  be  as  gods,  knowing 
good  and  evil,"  the  devil  said  to  her. 

So  Satan,  the  prince  of  the  evil  spirits,  tempted 
our  Lord.  And  as  the  prince  of  the  devils  tempted 
Christ,  so  do  his  servants  tempt  us,  Christ's  ser- 
vants.     Our  tempers,   our  longings,   our  fancies, 


108  HELL  OX  EARTH.  [SERM. 

are  not  evil  spirits;  they  are,  as  old  divines  well 
describe  them,  like  greedy  and  foolish  fish,  who  rise 
at  the  baits  which  evil  spirits  hold  out  to  us.  If  we 
resist  those  baits — if  we  put  ourselves  under  God's 
protection — if  we  claim  strength  from  Him  who 
conquered  the  devil  and  all  his  temptation,  then  we 
shall  be  able  to  turn  our  wills  away  from  those 
tempting  baits,  and  to  resign  our  will  into  our  Fa- 
ther's hand,  and  He  will  take  care  of  them,  and 
strengthen  them  with  his  will;  and  we  shall  find 
out  that  if  we  resist  the  devil,  he  will  flee  from  us. 
But  if  we  yield  to  temptations  whenever  they  come 
in  our  way,  we  shall  find  ourselves  less  and  less 
able  to  resist  them,  for  we  shall  learn  to  hate  the 
evil  spirits  less  and  less;  I  mean  we  shall  shrink 
less  from  the  evil  thoughts  they  hold  out  to  us. 
We  shall  give  place  to  the  devil,  as  the  Scripture 
tells  us  we  shall ;  for  instance,  by  indulging  in  ha- 
bitual passionate  tempers,  or  rooted  spite  and  ma- 
lice, letting  the  sun  go  down  upon  our  wrath :  and 
so  a  man  may  become  more  and  more  the  slave  of 
his  own  nature,  of  his  own  lusts  and  passions,  and 
therefore  of  the  devils,  who  are  continually  pam- 
pering and  maddening  those  lusts  and  passions, 
till  a  man  may  end  in  complete  possession;  not 
in  common  madness,  which  may  be  mere  disease, 
but  as  a  savage  and  a  raging  maniac,  such  as, 
thank  God,  are  rare  in  Christian  countries,  though 
they  were  common  among  our  own  forefathers 
before    they    were    converted   to    Christianity, — 


IX.]  HELL    ON    EARTH.  109 

men  like  the  demoniac  of  whom  the  text  speaks,  tor- 
mented by  devils,  given  up  to  blind  rage  and  malice 
against  himself  and  all  around,  to  lust  and  blas- 
phemy, to  confusion  of  mind  and  misery  of  body, 
God's  image  gone,  and  the  image  of  the  devil,  the 
destroyer  and  the  corrupter,  arisen  in  its  place.  Few 
men  can  arrive  at  this  pitch  of  wretchedness  in  a  ci- 
vilized country.    It  would  not  answer  the  evil  spirit's 
purpose  to  let  them  do  so.    It  suits  Ms  spirits  best  in 
such  a  land  as  this  to  walk  about  dressed  up  as  an- 
gels of  light.     Few  men  in  England  would  be  fools 
enough  to  indulge  the  gross  and  fierce  part  of  their 
nature  till  they  became  mere  savages,  like  the  demo- 
niac whom  Christ  cured:  so  it  is  to  respectable  vices 
that  the  devil  mostly  tempts  us,— to  covetousness,  to 
party  spirit,  to  a  hard  heart  and  a  narrow  mind;  to 
cruelty,  that  shall  clothe  itself  under  the  name  of  law; 
to  filthiness,  which  excuses  itself  by  saying,  "It  is  a 
man's  nature,  he  cannot  help  it;"  to  idleness,  which 
excuses  itself  on  the  score  of  wealth:  to  meanness 
and  unfairness  in  trade,  and  in  political  and  religious 
disputes— these  are  the  devils  which  haunt  us  Eng- 
lishmen—sleek, prim,  respectable  fiends  enough; 
and,  truly,  their  name  is  Legion !    And  the  man  who 
gives  himself  up  to  them,  though  he  may  not  become 
a  raving  savage,  is  just  as  truly  possessed  by  devils,  to 
his  own  misery  and  ruin,  that  he  may  sow  the  wind 
and  reap  the  whirlwind ;  that  though  men  may  speak 
well  of  him,  and  posterity  praise  his  saying,  and 
10* 


110  HELL    ON   EAKTH.  [SERM. 

speak  good  of  the  covetous  whom  God  abhorreth, 
yet  he  may  go  for  ever  unto  his  own,  to  the  evil 
spirits  to  whom  his  own  wicked  will  gave  him  up  for 
a  prey.  I  beseech  you,  my  friends,  consider  my 
words ;  they  are  not  mine,  but  the  Bible's.  Think 
of  them  with  fear, — and  yet  with  confidence;  for  we 
are  baptized  into  the  name  of  Him  who  conquered 
all  devils ;  you  may  claim  a  share  in  that  Spirit 
which  is  opposite  to  all  evil  spirits, — whose  presence 
makes  the  agony  and  misery  of  evil  spirits,  and 
drives  them  out  as  water  drives  out  fire.  If  He  is  on 
your  side  why  should  you  be  afraid  of  any  spirit? 
Greater  is  He  that  is  in  you  than  he  that  is  against 
you;  and  He,  Christ  Himself,  is  with  every  man, 
every  child,  who  struggles,  however  blindly  and 
weakly,  against  temptation.  When  temptation  comes, 
when  evil  looks  pleasant,  and  arguments  rise  up  in 
your  mind,  that  seem  to  make  it  look  right  and  rea- 
sonable, as  well  as  pleasant,  then,  out  of  the  very 
depths  of  your  hearts,  cry  after  Him  who  died  for 
you.  Say  to  yourselves,  'How  can  I  do  this  thing, 
and  offend  against  Him  who  bought  me  with  His 
blood?'  Say  to  him,  'I  am  weak,  I  am  confused; 
I  do  not  see  right  from  wrong;  I  cannot  find  my 
way;  I  cannot  answer  the  devil;  I  cannot  conquer 
these  cunning  thoughts ;  I  know  in  the  bottom  of 
my  heart  that  they  are  wrong,  mere  temptations, 
and  yet  they  look  so  reasonable.  Blessed  Saviour, 
Thou  must  show  me  where  they  are  wrong.     Thou 


IX.]  HELL  ON  EARTH.  Ill 

diclst  answer  the  devil  Thyself  out  of  God's  Word; 
put  into  my  mind  some  answer  out  of  God's  Word  to 
these  temptations ;  or,  at  least,  give  me  spirit  to  toss 
them  off — strength  of  will  to  thrust  the  whole 
temptation  out  of  my  head,  and  say,  I  will  parley  no 
longer  with  the  devil ;  I  will  put  the  whole  matter 
out  of  my  head  for  a  time.  I  don't  know  whether  it 
is  right  or  wrong  for  me  to  do  this  particular  thing, 
but  there  are  twenty  other  things  which  I  do  know 
are  right.  I'll  go  and  do  them,  and  let  this  wait 
awhile.' 

Believe  me,  my  friends,  you  can  do  this — you  can 
resist  these  evil  spirits  which  tempt  us  all ;  else  why 
did  our  Lord  bid  us  pray,  "Lead  us  not  into  temp- 
tation, but  deliver  us  from  evil?"  Why?  Because 
our  Father  in  heaven,  if  we  ask  Him,  will  not  lead 
us  into  temptation,  but  through  it  safe.  Tempted 
we  must  be,  else  we  should  not  be  men ;  but  here  is 
our  comfort  and  our  strength — that  we  have  a  King 
in  heaven,  who  has  fought  out  and  conquered  all 
temptations,  and  a  Father  in  heaven,  who  has  pro- 
mised that  He  will  not  suffer  us  to  be  tempted  above 
that  we  are  able,  but  will,  with  the  temptation,  make 
a  way  to  escape,  that  we  may  be  able  to  bear  it. 

Again,  I  say,  draw  near  to  God,  and  He  will  draw 
near  to  you.  Resist  the  devil,  and  he  will  flee  from 
you, 


SERMON  X. 


NOAH'S  JUSTICE. 

"Noah  was  a  just  man  and  perfect  in  his  generations,  and  Noah 
walked  with  God." — Genesis,  vi.  9. 

I  intend,  my  friends,  according  as  God  shall 
help  me,  to  preach  to  you,  between  this  time  and 
Christmas,  a  few  sermons  on  some  of  the  saints 
and  worthies  of  the  Old  Testament;  and  I  will  begin 
this  day  with  Noah. 

Now  you  must  bear  in  mind  that  the  histories 
of  these  ancient  men  were,  as  St.  Paul  says,  written 
for  our  example.  If  these  men  in  olden  times  had 
been  different  from  us,  they  would  not  be  examples  to 
us;  but  they  were  like  us — men  of  like  passions, 
says  St.  James,  as  ourselves;  they  had  each  of  them 
a  corrupt  nature,  which  was  continually  ready  to 
drag  them  down,  and  make  beasts  of  them,  and 
make  them  slaves  to  their  own  lusts — slaves  to  eat- 
ing and  drinking,  and  covetousness,  and  cowardice, 
and  laziness,  and  love  for  the  things  which  they 


SERM.  X.]  NOAH'S   JUSTICE.  113 

could  see  and  handle — just  such  a  nature,  in  short, 
as  we  have.  And  they  had  also  a  spirit  in  each  of 
them  which  was  longing  to  be  free,  and  strong,  and 
holy,  and  wise — such  a  spirit  as  we  have.  And  to 
them,  just  as  to  us,  God  was  revealing  himself; 
God  was  saying  to  their  consciences,  as  He  does  to 
ours,  "This  is  right,  that  is  wrong;  do  this,  and  be 
free  and  clear-hearted;  do  that,  and  be  dark  and 
discontented,  and  afraid  of  thy  own  thoughts." 
And  they  too,  like  us,  had  to  live  by  faith,  by  con- 
tinual belief  that  they  owed  a  duty  to  the  great  God 
whom  they  could  not  see,  by  continual  belief  that 
He  loved  them,  and  was  guiding  and  leading  them 
through,  every  thing  which  happened,  good  or  ill. 

This  is  faith  in  God,  by  which  alone  we,  or  any 
man,  can  live  worthily, — by  which  these  old  heroes 
lived.  We  read,  in  the  twelfth  chapter  of  Hebrews, 
that  it  was  by  faith  these  elders  obtained  a  good 
report;  and  the  whole  history  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment saints  is  the  history  of  God  speaking  to  the 
hearts  of  one  man  after  another,  teaching  them  each 
more  and  more  about  himself,  and  the  history  also 
of  these  men  listening  to  the  voice  of  God  in  their 
hearts,  and  believing  that  voice,  and  acting  faithfully 
upon  it,  into  whatever  strange  circumstances  or  deeds 
it  might  lead  them.  "By  faith,"  we  read  in  this 
same  chapter, — "by  faith  Noah,  being  warned  of 
God,  prepared  an  ark  to  the  saving  of  his  house,  and 
became  heir  of  the  righteousness  which  is  by  faith." 


114  noah's  justice.  [serm. 

Now,  to  understand  this  last  sentence,  you  must 
remember  that  Noah  was  not  under  the  law  of 
Moses.  St.  Paul  has  a  whole  chapter  (the  third 
chapter  of  Galatians)  to  show  that  these  old  saints 
had  nothing  to  do  with  Moses'  law  any  more  than 
we  have ;  that  it  was  given  to  the  Jews  many  hun- 
dred years  afterwards.  So  these  histories  of  the 
Old  Testament  saints  are,  in  fact,  histories  of  men 
who  conquered  by  faith — histories  of  the  power 
which  faith  in  God  has  to  conquer  temptation,  and 
doubt,  and  false  appearances,  and  fear,  and  danger, 
and  all  which  besets  us  and  keeps  us  down  from 
being  free  and  holy,  and  children  of  the  day,  walk- 
ing cheerfully  forward  on  our  heavenward  road  in 
the  light  of  our  Father's  loving  smile. 

Noah,  we  read,  "  was  a  just  man,  and  perfect  in 
his  generations ;"  and  why  ?  Because  he  was  a  faith- 
ful man — faithful  to  God,  as  it  is  written,  "  The  just 
shall  live  by  his  faith ;"  not  by  trusting  in  what  he 
does  himself,  in  his  own  works  or  deservings,  but 
trusting  in  God  who  made  him,  believing  that  God 
is  perfectly  righteous,  perfectly  wise,  perfectly 
loving;  and  that,  because  he  is  perfectly  loving,  He 
will  accept  and  save  sinful  man  when  He  sees  in 
sinful  man  the  earnest  wish  to  be  His  faithful, 
obedient  servant,  and  to  give  himself  up  to  the  rule 
and  guidance  of  God.  This,  then,  was  Noah's  jus- 
tice in  God's  sight,  as  it  was  Abraham's.  They 
believed  God,  and  so  became  heirs  of  the  righteous- 


x.]  noah's  justice.  115 

ness  which  is  by  faith;  not  their  own  righteousness, 
not  growing  out  of  their  own  character,  but  given 
them  by  God,  who  puts  His  righteous  Spirit  into 
those  who  trust  in  Him. 

But,  moreover,  we  read  that  Noah  "was  perfect 
in  his  generations;"  that  is,  he  was  perfect  in  all  the 
relations  and  duties  of  life; — a  good  son,  a  good 
husband,  a  good  father :  these  were  the  fruits  of  his 
faith.  He  believed  that  the  unseen  God  had  given 
him  these  ties,  had  given  him  his  parents,  his  chil- 
dren, and  that  to  love  them  was  to  love  God,  to  do 
his  duty  to  them  was  to  do  his  duty  to  God.  This 
was  part  of  his  walking  with  God,  continually  under 
his  great  Taskmaster's  eye — walking  about  his  daily 
business  with  the  belief  that  a  great  loving  Father 
was  above  him,  whatever  he  did,  ready  to  strengthen, 
and  guide,  and  bless  him  if  he  did  well;  ready  to 
avenge  Himself  on  him  if  he  did  ill.  These  were  the 
fruits  of  Noah's  faith. 

But  you  may  think  this  nothing  very  wonderful. 
Many  a  man  in  England  does  this  every  day,  and 
yet  no  one  ever  hears  of  him;  he  attends  to  all  his 
family  ties,  doing  justly,  loving  mercy,  and  walking 
humbly  with  God,  like  one  who  knows  he  is  re- 
deemed by  Christ's  blood;  he  lives,  he  dies,  he  is 
buried,  and  out  of  his  own  parish  his  name  is  never 
known;  while  Noah  has  earned  for  himself  a  world- 
wide fame;  for  four  thousand  years  his  name  has 
been  spreading  over  the  whole  earth  as  one  of  the 


116  noah's  justice.  [serm. 

greatest  men  who  ever  lived.  Mighty  nations  have 
worshipped  Noah  as  a  God;  many  heathen  nations 
worship  him  under  strange  and  confused  names  and 
traditions  to  this  day;  and  the  wisest  and  holiest 
men  among  Christians  now  reverence  Noah,  write  of 
him,  preach  on  him,  thank  God  for  him,  look  up  to 
him  as,  next  to  Abraham,  their  greatest  example  in 
the  Old  Testament. 

Well,  my  friends,  to  understand  what  made  Noah 
so  great,  we  must  understand  in  what  times  Noah 
lived.  "The  wickedness  of  men  was  great  in  the 
earth  in  those  days,  and  every  imagination  of  the 
thoughts  of  their  heart  was  only  evil  continually,  and 
the  earth  was  filled  with  violence  through  them." 
And  we  must  remember  that  the  wickedness  of  men 
before  the  flood  was  not  outwardly  like  wickedness 
now;  it  was  not  petty,  mean,  contemptible  wicked- 
ness of  silly  and  stupid  men,  such  as  could  be 
despised  and  laughed  down;  it  was  like  the  wicked- 
ness of  fallen  angels.  Men  were  then  strong  and 
beautiful,  cunning  and  active,  to  a  degree  of  which 
we  can  form  no  conception.  Their  enormous  length 
of  life  (six,  seven,  and  eight  hundred  years  com- 
monly) must  have  given  them  an  experience  and 
daring  far  beyond  any  man  in  these  days.  Their 
bodily  size  and  strength  were  in  many  cases  enor- 
mous. We  read  that  "  there  were  giants  in  the  earth 
in  those  days;  and  also  after  that,  when  the  sons  of 
God  came  in  unto  the  daughters  of  men,  and  they 


x.]  noah's  justice.  117 

bare  children  to  them,  the  same  became  mighty 
men  which  were  of  old,  men  of  renown."  Their 
powers  of  invention  seem  to  have  been  proportiona- 
bl  j  great.  We  read,  in  the  fourth  chapter  of  Genesis, 
how,  within  a  few  years  after  Adam  was  driven  out 
of  Paradise,  they  had  learned  to  build  cities,  to  tame 
the  wild  beasts,  and  live  upon  their  milk  and  flesh; 
that  they  had  invented  all  sorts  of  music  and  musical 
instruments;  that  they  had  discovered  the  art  of 
working  in  metals.  We  read  among  them  of  Tubal- 
Cain,  an  instructor  of  every  workman  in  brass  and 
iron  ;  and  the  old  traditions  in  the  East,  where  these 
men  dwelt,  are  full  of  strange  and  awful  tales  of 
their  power. 

Again,  we  must  remember  that  there  was  no  law 
in  Noah's  days  before  the  flood,  no  Bible  to  guide 
them,  no  constitutions  and  acts  of  parliament  to 
bind  men  in  the  beaten  track  by  the  awful  ma- 
jesty of  law,  whether  they  will  or  no,  as  we  have. 

This  is  the  picture  which  the  Bible  gives  us  of 
the  old  world  before  the  flood — a  world  of  men 
mighty  in  body  and  mind,  fierce  and  busy,  conquer- 
ing the  world  round  them,  in  continual  war  and 
turmoil;  with  all  the  wild  passions  of  youth,  and 
yet  all  the  cunning  and  experience  of  enormous  old 
age;  with  the  strength  and  the  courage  of  young 
men  to  carry  out  the  iniquity  of  old  ones;  every  one 
guided  only  by  self-will,  having  cast  off  God  and 
conscience,  and  doing  every  man  that  which  was 
11 


118  noah's  justice.  [serm. 

right  in  the  sight  of  his  own  eyes.  And  amidst  all 
this,  while  men,  as  wise,  as  old,  as  strong,  as  great 
as  himself,  whirled  away  round  him  in  this  raging 
sea  of  sin,  Noah  was  steadfast ;  he,  at  least,  knew  his 
way, — "he  walked  with  God,  a  just  man,  and  perfect 
in  his  generations." 

To  Noah,  living  in  such  a  world  as  this,  among 
temptation,  and  violence,  and  insult,  no  doubt,  there 
came  this  command  from  God :  "  The  end  of  all 
flesh  is  come  before  me,  for  the  earth  is  filled  with 
violence  through  them,  and  I  will  destroy  them  with 
the  earth.  And  behold  I,  even  I,  do  bring  a  flood  of 
waters  upon  the  earth,  to  destroy  all  flesh  wherein  is 
the  breath  of  life ;  but  with  thee  will  I  establish  my 
covenant,  and  thou  shalt  make  thee  an  ark  of  wood 
after  the  fashion  which  I  tell  thee;  and  thou  shalt 
come  into  the  ark,  thou  and  thy  family,  and  of  every 
living  thing,  two  of  every  sort,  male  and  female, 
shalt  thou  bring  into  the  ark,  and  keep  them  alive 
with  thee ;  and  take  thou  of  all  food  that  is  eaten  into 
the  ark,  for  thee  and  for  them."  What  a  message, 
my  friends  !  If  we  wish  to  see  a  little  of  the  great- 
ness of  Noah's  faith,  conceive  such  a  message  coming 
from  God  to  one  of  us  !  Should  we  believe  it — 
much  less  act  upon  it?  But  Noah  believed  God,  says 
the  Scripture;  and  "according  as  God  commanded 
him,  so  did  he."  Now,  in  whatever  way  this  command 
came  from  God  to  Noah,  it  is  equally  wonderful. 
Some  of  you,  perhaps,  will  say  in  your  hearts,  "No! 


X.]  NO  All's   JUSTICE.  11  <l 

when  God  spoke  to  him,  how  could  he  help  obeying 
Him  ? '  But,  my  friends,  ask  yourselves  seriously, — 
for,  believe  me,  it  is  a  most  important  question  for  the 
soul  and  inner  life  of  you  and  me,  and  every  man — 
how  did  Noah  know  that  it  was  God  who  spoke  to 
him?  It  is  easy  to  say  God  appeared  to  him;  but 
no  man  hath  seen  God  at  any  time.  It  is  easy,  again, 
to  say  that  an  angel  appeared  to  him,  or  that  God 
appeared  to  him  in  the  form  of  a  man;  but  still  the 
same  question  is  left  to  be  answered,  how  did  he 
know  that  this  appearance  came  from  God,  and  that 
its  words  were  true?  Why  should  not  Noah  have 
said,  'This  was  an  evil  spirit  which  appeared  to  me, 
trying  to  frighten  and  ruin  me,  and  stir  up  all  my 
neighbours  to  mock  me,  perhaps  to  murder  me?' 
Or,  again :  suppose  that  you  or  I  saw  some  glorious 
apparition  this  day,  which  told  us  on  such  and  such 
a  day  such  and  such  a  town  will  be  destroyed,  what 
should  tve  think  of  it?  Should  we  not  say,  I  must 
have  been  dreaming — I  must  have  been  ill,  and  so 
my  brain  and  eyes  must  have  been  disordered,  and 
treat  the  whole  thing  as  a  mere  fancy  of  ill  health; 
now  why  did  not  Noah  do  the  same? 

"Why  do  I  say  this?  To  show  you,  my  friends, 
that  it  is  not  apparitions  and  visions  which  can  make 
a  man  believe.  As  it  is  written,  "  If  they  believe  not 
Moses  and  the  prophets,  neither  will  they  be  per- 
suaded though  one  rose  from  the  dead."  No;  a  man 
must  have  faith  in  his  heart  already.    A  man  must 


120  noah's  justice.  [serm. 

first  be  accustomed  to  discern  right  from  wrong — to 
listen  to  and  to  obey  the  voice  of  God  within  him; 
that  word  of  God  of  which  it  is  said,  "  The  word  is 
nigh  thee,  in  thy  heart,  and  in  thy  mind,"  before 
he  can  hear  God's  word  from  without;  else  he  will 
only  explain  away  miracles,  and  call  visions  and 
apparitions  sick  men's  dreams. 

But  there  was  something  yet  more  wonderful  and 
divine  in  Noah's  faith, — I  mean  his  patience.  He 
knew  that  a  flood  was  to  come — he  set  to  work  in 
faith  to  build  his  ark — and  that  ark  was  in  building 
for  one  hundred  and  twenty  years:  one  hundred  and 
twenty  years  !  It  seems  at  first  past  all  belief.  For 
all  that  time  he  built;  and  all  the  while  the  world 
went  on  just  as  usual;  and,  before  he  had  finished, 
ol  dmen  had  died,  and  children  grown  into  years ; 
and  great  cities  had  sprung  up  perhaps  where  there 
was  not  a  cottage  before ;  and  trees  which  were  but  a 
yard  high  when  the  ark  was  begun  had  grown  into 
mighty  forest-timber;  and  men  had  multiplied  and 
spread,  and  yet  Noah  built  and  built  on  steadfastly, 
believing  that  what  God  had  said  would  surely  one 
day  or  other  come  to  pass.  For  one  hundred  and 
twenty  years  he  saw  the  world  go  on  as  usual,  and 
yet  he  never  forgot  that  it  was  a  doomed  world.  He 
endured  the  laughter  and  mockery  of  all  his  neigh- 
bours, and' every  fresh  child  who  was  born  grew  up 
to  laugh  at  the  foolish  old  man  who  had  been  toiling 
for  a  hundred  years  past  on  his  mad  scheme,  as  they 


x.]  noah's  justice.  121 

thought  it;  and  yet  Noah  never  lost  faith,  and  he 
never  lost  love  either — for  all  those  years,  we  read, 
he  preached  righteousness  to  the  very  men  who 
mocked  him,  and  preached  in  vain — one  hundred 
and  twenty  years  he  warned  those  sinners  of  God's 
wrath,  of  righteousness  and  judgment  to  come,  and 
no  man  listened  to  him  !  That,  I  believe,  must  have 
been,  after  all,  the  hardest  of  all  his  trials. 

And,  doubtless,  Noah  had  his  inward  temptation 
many  a  time ;  no  doubt  he  was  ready  now  and  then  to 
believe  God's  message  all  a  dream — to  laugh  at  him- 
self for  his  fears  of  a  flood  which  seemed  never  coming, 
but  in  his  heart  was  "the  still  small  voice"  of  God, 
warning  him  that  God  was  not  a  man  that  he  should 
lie,  or  repent,  or  deceive  those  who  walked  faithfully 
with  him ;  and  around  him  he  saw  men  growing  and 
growing  in  iniquity,  filling  up  the  cup  of  their  own 
damnation ;  and  he  said  to  himself,  "Verily  there  is  a 
God  who  judgeth  the  earth — for  all  this  a  reckoning 
day  will  surely  come;  "  and  he  worked  steadfastly  on, 
and  the  ark  was  finished.  And  then  at  last  there 
came  a  second  call  from  God,  "  Come,  thou  and  all 
thy  house,  into  the  ark,  for  thee  have  I  seen  righteous 
before  me  in  this  generation.  Yet  seven  days,  and 
I  will  cause  it  to  rain  upon  the  earth,  and  every 
living  substance  that  I  have  made  will  I  destroy  from 
off  the  earth."  And  Noah  entered  into  the  ark,  and 
seven  days  he  waited ;  and  louder  than  ever  laughed 
the  scoffers  round  him,  at  the  old  man  and  his  family 
11* 


122  noah's  justice.  [serm.  x. 

shut  into  his  ark  safe  on  dryland,  while  day  and  night 
went  on  as  quietly  as  ever,  and  the  world  ran  its 
usual  round;  for  seven  days  more  their  mad  game 
lasted — they  ate,  they  drank,  they  married,  they 
gave  in  marriage,  they  planted,  they  builded;  and  on 
the  seventh  day  it  came — the  rain  fell  day  after  day, 
and  week  after  week — and  the  windows  of  heaven 
were  opened,  and  the  fountains  of  the  great  deep 
were  broken  up,  and  the  flood  arose,  and  swept  them 
all  away! 


SERMON  XI. 


THE  NOACHIC  COVENANT. 

"  And  God  spake  iinto  Noah,  and  his  sons  with  him,  saying,  And 
I,  behold  I,  establish  my  covenant  with  you,  and  with  your 
seed  after  you." — Gex.  ix.  8,  9. 

In  my  last  sermon  on  Noah,  I  spoke  of  the  flood 
and  of  Noah's  faith  before  the  flood;  I  now  go  on 
to  speak  of  the  covenant  which  God  made  with  Noah 
after  the  flood.  Now,  Noah  stood  on  that  newly- 
dried  earth  as  the  head  of  mankind:  he  and  his 
family,  in  all  eight  souls,  saved  by  God's  mercy  from 
the  general  ruin,  were  the  only  beings  left  alive, 
and  had  laid  on  them  the  wonderful  and  glorious 
duty  of  renewing  the  race  of  man,  and  replenish- 
ing the  vast  world  around  them:  from  that  little 
knot  of  human  beings  were  to  spring  all  the  nations 
of  the  earth. 

And  because  this  calling  and  destiny  of  theirs  was 
a  great  and  all-important  one — because  so  much 
of  the  happiness  or  misery  of  the  race  of  mankind 
depended  on  the  teaching  which  they  would  get  from 
their  forefathers,  the  sons  of  Noah,  therefore  God 


124  THE  NOACHIC  COVENANT.  [SERM. 

thought  fit  to  make  with  Noah  and  his  sons  a  solemn 
covenant,  as  soon  as  they  came  out  of  the  ark. 

Let  us  solemnly  consider  this  covenant,  for  it 
stands  good  now  as  much  as  ever.  God  made  it 
"with  Noah,  and  his  seed  after  him,"  for  perpe- 
tual generations.  And  we  are  the  seed  of  Noah ; 
every  man,  woman,  and  child  of  us  here  were  in  the 
loins  of  Noah  when  the  great,  absolute  God  gave 
him  that  pledge  and  promise.  We  must  earnestly 
consider  that  covenant,  for  in  it  lies  the  very  ground 
and  meaning  of  man's  life  and  business  on  this  earth. 
"And  God  blessed  Noah  and  his  sons,  and  said 
unto  them,  Be  fruitful  and  multiply,  and  replenish 
the  earth ;  and  the  fear  of  you  and  the  dread  of 
you  shall  be  upon  every  living  creature.  Into  your 
hand  they  are  delivered.  Every  moving  thing  that 
liveth  shall  be  meat  for  you,  even  as  the  green  herb 
have  I  given  you  all  things.  But  flesh,  with  the 
life  thereof,  which  is  the  blood  thereof,  shall  ye  not 
eat.  And  surely  your  blood  of  your  lives  will  I  re- 
quire ;  at  the  hand  of  every  beast  will  I  require  it,  and 
at  the  hand  of  men;  at  the  hand  of  every  man's 
brother  will  I  require  the  life  of  man.  Whoso 
sheddeth  man's  blood,  by  man  shall  his  blood  be 
shed;  for  in  the  image  of  God  made  He  man." 

Now,  to  understand  this  covenant,  consider  what 
thoughts  would  have  been  likely  to  grow  up  in  the 
mind  of  Noah's  children  after  the  flood?  Would 
they  not  have  been  something  of  this  kind :  '  God 


XI.]         THE  NOACHIC  COVENANT.  125 

does  not  love  men ;  He  has  drowned  all  but  us,  and 
we  are  men  of  like  passions  with  the  world  who 
perished;  may  we  not  expect  the  like  ruin  at  any 
moment?  Then  what  use  to  plough  and  sow,  and 
build  and  plant,  and  work  for  those  who  shall  come 
after  us?  "  Let  us  eat  and  drink,  for  to-morrow 
we  die." 

And,  again,  they  would  have  been  ready  to  say, 
"This  God,  whom  our  forefather  Noah  said  sent 
floods,  we  cannot  see  Him;  but  the  floods  themselves 
we  can  see.  All  these  clouds  and  tempests,  light- 
ning, sun,  and  stars,  are  we  stronger  than  they? 
No!  They  may  crush  us,  drown  us,  strike  us  dead 
at  any  moment.  They  seem,  too,  to  go  by  certain 
wonderful  rules  and  laws  ;  perhaps  they  have  a  will 
and  understanding  in  them.  Instead  of  praying 
to  a  God  whom  we  never  saw,  why  not  pray  to  the 
thunder-clouds  not  to  strike  us  dead,  and  to  the  seas 
and  rivers  not  to  sweep  us  away  ?  For  this  great, 
wonderful,  awful  world  in  which  we  are,  however 
beautiful  may  be  its  flowers,  and  its  fruits,  and  its 
sunshine,  there  is  no  trusting  it;  we  are  sitting 
upon  a  painted  sepulchre,  a  beautiful  monster,  a 
gulf  of  flood  and  fire,  which  may  burst  up  any  mo- 
ment, and  sweep  us  away  as  it  did  our  forefathers." 

Again,  Noah's  children  would  have  begun  to  say, 
"These  beasts  here  round  us,  they  are  so  many  of 
them  larger  than  we,  stronger  than  we,  able  to  tear 


126  THE  NOACHIC  COVENANT.  [sERM. 

us  to  atoms,  eat  us  up  as  they  would  eat  a  lamb. 
They  are  self-sufficient,  too ;  they  want  no  clothes, 
nor  houses,  nor  fire,  like  us  poor,  weak,  naked,  soft 
human  creatures.  They  can  run  faster  than  we,  see 
farther  than  we;  their  scent,  too,  what  a  wonderful, 
mysterious  power  that  is,  like  a  miracle  to  us  !  And, 
besides  all  their  cunning  ways  of  getting  food  and 
building  nests,  they  never  do  wrong  ;  they  never  do 
horrible  things  contrary  to  their  nature;  they  all 
abide  as  God  has  made  them,  obeying  the  law  of  their 
kind.  Are  not  these  beasts,  then,  much  wiser  and 
better  than  we  ?  We  will  honour  them,  and  pray 
to  them  not  to  devour  us — to  make  us  cunning 
and  powerful  as  they  are  themselves.  And  if  they 
are  no  better,  surely  they  are  no  worse  than  we 
are.  After  all,  what  difference  is  there  between  a 
man  and  a  beast  ?  The  flood  which  drowned  the 
beasts  drowned  the  men  too.  A  beast  is  flesh  and 
blood,  what  more  is  a  man?  If  you  kill  him,  he 
dies,  just  as  a  beast  dies ;  and  why  should  not  a 
man's  carcass  be  just  as  good  to  eat  as  a  beast's, 
and  better?"  And  so  there  would  have  been  a 
free  opening  at  once  into  all  the  horrors  of  canni- 
balism ! 

Again,  Noah's  descendants  would  have  said, 
"  Our  forefathers  offered  sacrifices  to  the  unseen 
God,  as  a  sign  that  all  they  had  belonged  to  Him, 
and  that  they  had  forfeited  their  own  souls  by  sin, 
and  were  therefore  ready  to  give  up  the  most  pre- 


XI.]  THE  NOACIIIC  COVENANT.  127 

cious  things  they  had — their  cattle,  as  a  sign  that 
they  owed  all  to  that  very  God  whom  they  had  of- 
fended. But  are  not  human  creatures  much  more 
precious  than  cattle  ?  Will  it  not  be  a  much  greater 
sign  of  repentance  and  willingness  to  give  up  all  to 
God  if  we  offer  Him  the  best  things  which  we  have 
— human  creatures  ?  If  we  kill  and  sacrifice  to  Him 
our  most  beautiful  and  innocent  things — little  chil- 
dren— noble  young  men — beautiful  young  girls  ? ' 
My  friends,  these  are  very  strange  and  shocking 
thoughts,  but  they  have  been  in  the  hearts  and 
minds  of  all  nations.  The  heathens  do  such  things 
now.  Our  own  forefathers  used  to  do  such  things 
once;  they  were  tempted  to  worship  the  sun  and  the 
moon,  and  the  rivers,  and  the  thunder,  and  to  look 
with  superstitious  terror  at  the  bears,  and  the  Avolves, 
and  the  snakes,  round  them,  and  to  kill  their  young 
children  and  maidens,  and  offer  them  up  as  sacri- 
fices to  the  dark  powers  of  this  world,  which  they 
thought  were  ready  to  swallow  them  up.  And  God 
is  my  witness,  my  friends,  when  one  goes  through 
some  parts  of  England  now,  and  sees  the  mine- 
children  and  factory-children,  and  all  the  sin  and 
misery,  and  the  people  wearying  themselves  in  the 
fire  for  very  vanity,  we  seem  not  to  be  so  very  far 
from  the  same  dark  superstition  now,  though  we 
may  call  it  by  a  different  name.  England  has  been 
sacrificing  her  sons  and  her  daughters  to  the  devil 
of  covetousness  of  late  years,  just  as  much  as  our 


128  THE  NOACHIC  COVENANT.  [SERM. 

forefathers  offered  theirs  to  the  devil  of  selfish  and 
cowardly  superstition. 

But  see,  now,  how  this  covenant  which  God  made 
with  Noah  was  intended  just  to  remedy  every  one 
of  those  temptations  which  I  just  mentioned,  into 
which  Noah's  children's  children  would  have  been 
certain  to  fall,  and  into  which  so  many  of  them  did 
fall.  They  might  have  become  reckless,  I  said,  from 
fear  of  a  flood  at  any  moment.  God  promises  them 
— and  confirms  it  with  the  sign  of  the  rainbow — 
never  again  to  destroy  the  earth  by  water.  They 
would  have  been  likely  to  take  to  praying  to  the  rain 
and  the  thunder,  the  sun  and  the  stars;  God  declares 
in  this  covenant  that  it  is  He  alone  who  sends  the 
rain  and  thunder,  that  He  brings  the  clouds  over 
the  earth,  that  He  rules  the  great,  awful  world ;  that 
men  are  to  look  up  and  believe  in  God  as  a  loving 
and  thinking  person,  who  has  a  will  of  His  own,  and 
that  a  faithful,  and  true,  and  loving,  and  merciful 
will;  that  their  lives  and  safety  depend  not  on  blind 
chance,  or  the  stern  necessity  of  certain  laws  of  na- 
ture, but  on  the  covenant  of  an  almighty  and  all- 
loving  person. 

Again,  I  said,  that  Noah's  sons  would  have  been 
ready  to  fear,  and,  at  last,  to  worship  the  dumb 
beasts;  God's  covenant  says,  "No;  these  beasts  are 
not  your  equals — they  are  your  slaves — you  may 
freely  kill  them  for  your  food;  the  fear  of  you  shall 
be  upon  them.     The   huge  elephant  and  the  swift 


XI.]        THE  NOACHIC  COVENANT.         129 

horse  shall  become  your  obedient  servants;  the  lion 
and  the  tiger  shall  tremble  and  flee  before  you. 
Only  claim  your  rights  as  men ;  believe  that  the  in- 
visible God  who  made  the  earth  is  your  strength  and 
your  protector,  and  that  He  to  whom  the  earth  be- 
longs has  made  you  lords  of  the  earth  and  all  that 
therein  is.  But,"  said  God's  covenant  to  Noah's 
sons,  "you  did  not  make  these  beasts — you  did  not 
give  them  life,  therefore  I  forbid  you  to  eat  their 
blood  wherein  their  life  lies,  that  you  may  never 
forget  that  all  the  power  you  have  over  these  beasts 
was  given  you  by  God,  who  made  and  preserves  that 
wonderful,  mysterious,  holy  thing  called  life,  which 
you  can  never  imitate."  Again,  I  said,  that  Noah's 
children,  having  been  accustomed  to  the  violence  and 
bloodshed  on  the  earth  before  the  flood,  might  hold 
man's  life  cheap ;  that  having  seen  in  the  flood  men 
perish  just  like  the  beasts  around  them,  they  might 
have  begun  to  think  that  man's  life  was  not  more 
precious  than  the  beasts.'  They  might  have  all  gone 
on  at  last,  as  some  of  them  did,  to  those  horrors  of 
cannibalism  and  human  sacrifices  of  which  I  just  now 
spoke.  Now  here,  again,  comes  in  God's  covenant, 
"  Surely  the  blood  of  your  lives  will  I  require.  At  the 
hand  of  every  beast  will  I  require  it,  and  at  the  hand 
of  every  man's  brother  will  I  require  it.  Whoso 
sheclde£h  man's  blood  by  man  shall  his  blood  be 
shed,  for  in  the  image  of  God  made  He  man."  This, 
then,  h  the  covenant  which  God  made  with  Noah 
12 


130         THE  NOACHIC  COVENANT.      [SERM. 

for  perpetual  generations,  and  therefore  with  us, 
the  children  of  Noah.  In  this  covenant  you  see 
certain  truths  come  out  into  light:  some,  of  which 
you  read  nothing  before  in  the  Bible,  and  other 
truths  which,  though  they  were  given  to  Adam,  yet 
had  been  utterly  lost  sight  of  before  the  flood.  This 
has  been  God's  method,  we  find  from  the  Bible,  ever 
since  the  creation, — to  lead  man  step  by  step  up  into 
more  and  more  light,  up  to  this  very  day,  and  to 
make  each  sin  and  each  madness  of  men  an  occasion 
for  revealing  to  Him  more  and  more  of  truth  and  of 
the  living  God.  And  so  each  and  every  chapter  in 
the  Bible  is  built  upon  all  that  has  gone  before  it; 
and  he  that  neglects  to  understand  what  has  gone 
before  will  never  come  to  the  understanding  of  what 
follows  after.  Why  do  I  say  this?  Because  men 
are  continually  picking  out  those  scraps  of  the  Bible 
which  suit  their  own  fancy,  and  pinning  their  whole 
faith  on  them,  and  trying  to  make  them  serve  to  ex- 
plain every  thing  in  heaven  and  earth;  whereas  no 
man  can  understand  the  Epistles  unless  he  first  un- 
derstand the  Gospels.  No  man  will  understand  the 
New  Testament  unless  he  first  understands  the  pith 
and  marrow  of  the  Old.  No  man  will  understand  the 
Psalms  and  the  Prophets  unless  he  first  understands 
the  first  ten  chapters  of  Genesis ;  and,  lastly,  no  one 
will  ever  understand  any  thing  about  the  Bible  at  all, 
who,  instead  of  taking  it  simply  as  it  is  written,  is 
always  trying  to  twist  it  into  proofs   of  his  own 


XI.]         THE  NOACHIC  COVENANT.         131 

favourite  doctrines,  and  make  Abraham  a  high  Cal- 
vinist,  or  Noah  a  member  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land. Why  do  I  say  this?  To  make  you  all  think 
seriously  that  this  covenant  on  which  I  have  been 
preaching  is  your  covenant;  that  as  sure  as  the  rain- 
bow stands  in  heaven,  as  sure  as  you  and  I  are 
sprung  out  of  the  loins  of  Noah,  so  surely  this  cove- 
nant which  binds  us  is  part  of  our  Christian  cove- 
nant, and  wo  to  us  if  we  break  it ! 

This  covenant  tells  us  that  we  are  made  in  God's 
likeness,  and,  therefore,  that  all  sin  is  unworthy  of 
us  and  unnatural  to  us.  It  tells  us  that  God  means 
us  bravely  and  industriously  to  subdue  the  earth 
and  the  living  things  upon  it;  that  we  are  to  be  the 
masters  of  the  pleasant  things  about  us,  and  not 
their  slaves,  as  sots  and  idlers  are;  that  we  are 
stewards  and  tenants  of  this  world  for  the  great 
God  who  made  it,  to  whom  we  are  to  look  up  in 
confidence  for  help  and  protection.  It  tells  us  that 
our  family  relationships,  the  blessed  duties  of  a  hus- 
band and  a  father,  are  sacred  things;  that  God 
has  created  them,  that  the  great  God  of  heaven 
Himself  respects  them,  that  the  covenant  which  He 
makes  with  the  father  He  makes  with  the  children; 
that  He  commands  marriage,  and  that  He  blesses  it 
with  fruitfulness ;  that  it  is  He  who  has  told  us, 
"Be  fruitful  and  multiply,  and  replenish  the  earth;" 
that  the  tie  of  brotherhood  is  His  making  also ;  that 
He  will  require  the  blood  of  the  murdered  man  at 


132  THE  NOACHIC  COVENANT.        [SERM.  XI. 

his  brother's  hand;  that  a  man's  brothers,  his  nearest 
relations,  are  bound  to  protect  and  right  him  if  he 
is  injured;  so  that  we  all  are  to  be,  in  the  deepest 
sense  of  the  word,  what  Cain  refused  to  be,  our 
brothers'  keepers,  and  each  member  of  a  family 
is  more  or  less  answerable  for  the  welfare  and 
safety  of  all  his  relations.  Herein  lies  the  ground 
of  all  religion  and  of  all  society — in  the  covenant 
which  God  made  with  Noah;  and  just  as  it  is  in  vain 
for  a  man  to  pretend  to  be  a  scholar  when  he  does 
not  even  know  his  letters,  so  it  is  mockery  for  a  man 
to  pretend  to  be  a  converted  Christian  man  who 
knows  not  even  so  much  as  was  commanded  to  Noah 
and  his  sons.  He  who  has  not  learnt  to  love,  honour, 
and  succour  his  own  family — he  who  has  not  learnt 
to  work  in  honest  and  manful  industry — he  who 
has  not  learnt  to  look  beyond  this  earth,  and  its 
chance,  and  its  customs,  and  its  glittering  outside, 
and  see  and  trust  in  a  great,  wise,  loving  God,  by 
whose  will  every  tree  grows  and  every  shower  falls, 
what  is  Christianity  to  him?  He  has  to  learn  the 
first  principles  which  were  delivered  to  Noah,  and 
which  not  even  the  heathen  and  the  savage  have 
utterly  forgotten. 


SERMON  XII. 


ABRAHAM'S    FAITH. 

"  By  faith  Abraham  sojourned  in  the  land  of  promise  as  in  a 
strange  country,  dwelling  in  tabernacles  with  Isaac  and  Jacob, 
the  heirs  with  him  of  the  same  promise.  For  he  looked  for  a 
city,  which  hath  foundations,  whose  builder  and  maker  is 
God." — Hebrews,  xi.  9,  10. 

In  the  last  sermon  'which  I  preached  in  this 
church,  I  said  that  the  Bible  is  the  history  of  God's 
ways  with  mankind,  how  He  has  schooled  and 
brought  them  up  until  the  coming  of  Christ;  and 
if  we  read  the  Bible  histories,  one  after  another, 
in  the  same  order  in  which  God  has  put  them  in 
the  Bible,  we  shall  see  that  they  are  all  regular  steps 
in  a  line,  that  each  fresh  story  depends  on  the  story 
which  went  before  it;  and  yet,  in  each  fresh  his- 
tory, we  shall  find  God  telling  men  something  new 
— something  which  they  did  not  know  before.  And 
that  so  the  whole  Bible,  from  beginning  to  end,  is 
one  glorious,  methodic,  and  organic  tree  of  life,  every 
part  growing  out  of  the  others  and  depending  on 
the  others,  from  the  root — that  foundation,  other 
12* 


134  Abraham's  faith.  [serm. 

than  which  no  man  can  lay,  which  is  Christ,  reveal- 
ing Himself,  though  not  by  name,  in  that  wonderful 
first  chapter  of  Genesis, — up  to  the  fruit,  which  is 
the  kingdom  of  Christ,  and  Gospel  of  Christ,  and 
the  salvation  in  which  we  here  now  stand.  I  told 
you  that  the  lesson  which  God  has  been  teaching 
men  in  all  ages  is  faith  in  God — that  the  saints  of 
old  were  just  the  men  who  learnt  this  lesson  of 
faith.  Now  this,  as  we  all  know,  was  the  secret  of 
Abraham's  greatness,  that  he  had  faith  in  God  to 
leave  his  own  country  at  God's  bidding,  and  be- 
come a  stranger  and  a  pilgrim  on  the  earth,  wander- 
ing on  in  full  trust  that  God  would  give  him  another 
country  instead  of  that  which  he  had  left — "a  city 
which  hath  foundations,  whose  builder  and  maker 
is  God."  This  was  what  Abraham  looked  for.  Some- 
thing of  what  it  means  we  shall  see  presently. 

You  remember  the  story  of  the  tower  of  Babel? 
How  certain  of  Noah's  family  forgot  the  covenant 
which  God  had  made  with  Noah,  forgot  that  God 
had  commanded  them  to  go  forth  in  every  direction 
and  fill  the  earth  with  human  beings,  solemnly 
promising  to  protect  and  bless  them,  and  took  on 
themselves  to  do  the  very  opposite — set  up  a  kingdom 
of  their  own  fashion,  and  herded  together  for  selfish 
safety,  instead  of  going  forth  to  all  the  quarters  of  the 
world  in  a  natural  way,  according  to  their  families, 
in  their  tribes,  after  their  nations,  as  the  eleventh 
chapter  of  Genesis  says  they  ought  to  have  done. 


XII.]  ABRAHAM'S   FAITH.  135 

"  Let  us  build  us  a  city  and  a  tower,  and  make  us 
a  name,  lest,"  they  said,  "we  be  scattered  abroad 
over  the  face  of  the  whole  world."  Here  was  one  act 
of  disobedience  to  God's  order.  But  besides  this 
they  had  fallen  into  a  slavish  dread  of  the  powers  of 
nature — they  were  afraid  of  another  flood.  They 
set  to  to  build  a  tower,  on  which  they  might  worship 
the  sun  and  stars,  and  the  host  of  heaven,  and  pray 
to  them  to  send  no  more  floods  and  tempests.  They 
thus  fell  into  slavish  fear  of  the  powers  of  nature, 
as  well  as  into  a  selfish  and  artificial  civilization. 
In  short,  they  utterly  broke  the  covenant  which 
God  had  made  with  Noah.  But  by  miraculously 
confounding  their  language,  God  drove  them  forth 
over  the  face  of  the  whole  earth,  and  so  forced  them 
to  do  that  which  they  ought  to  have  done  willingly 
at  first. 

Now,  we  must  remember  that  all  this  happened 
in  the  very  country  in  which  Abraham  lived.  He 
must  have  heard  of  it  all — for  aught  we  know  he 
had  seen  the  tower  of  Babel.  So  that,  for  good 
or  for  evil,  the  whole  Babel  event  must  have  pro- 
duced a  strong  effect  on  the  mind  of  a  thoughtful 
man  like  Abraham,  and  raised  many  strange  ques- 
tionings in  his  heart,  which  God  alone  could  answer 
for  him,  or  for  us.  Now,  what  did  God  mean  to 
teach  Abraham  by  calling  him  out  of  his  country, 
and  telling  him,  "I  will  make  of  thee  a  great 
nation?"     I  think  He  meant  to  show  him,  for  one 


136  Abraham's  faith.  [seem. 

thing,  that  that  Babel  plan  of  society  was  utterly 
absurd  and  accursed,  certain  to  come  to  naught, 
and  so  to  lead  him  on  to  hope  for  a  city  which  had 
foundations,  and  to  see  that  its  builder  and  maker 
must  be,  not  the  selfishness  or  the  ambition  of  men, 
but  the  will,  and  the  wisdom,  and  providence  of  God. 
Let  us  see  how  God  led  Abraham  on  to  under- 
stand this — to  look  for  a  city  which  had  founda- 
tions; in  short,  to  understand  what  a  state  and  a 
nation  means  and  ought  to  be.  First,  God  taught 
him  that  he  was  not  to  cling  coward-like  to  the  place 
where  he  was  born,  but  to  go  out  boldly  to  colonize 
and  subdue  the  earth,  for  the  great  God  of  heaven 
would  protect  and  guide  him.  "Get  thee  out  of 
thy  country  and  from  thy  father's  house  unto  a 
land  which  I  will  show  thee.  And  I  will  bless  them 
that  bless  thee,  and  curse  them  that  curse  thee." 
Again ;  God  taught  him  what  a  nation  was :  ul 
will  make  of  thee  a  great  nation."  As  much  as  to 
say,  "Never  fancy,  as  those  fools  at  Babel  did, 
that  a  nation  only  means  a  great  crowd  of  people — 
never  fancy  that  men  can  make  themselves  into  a 
nation  justly  feeding  altogether,  and  breeding  alto- 
gether, and  fighting  altogether,  as  the  herds  of 
wild  cattle  and  sheep  do,  while  there  is  no  real 
union  between  them."  For  what  brought  those 
Babel  men  together  ?  Just  what  keeps  a  herd  of 
cattle  together — selfishness  and  fear.  Each  man 
thought  lie  would  be  safer,  forsooth,  in  company. 


XII.]  ABRAHAM'S  FAITH.  137 

Each  man  thought  that  if  he  was  in  company,  he 
could  use  his  neighbours'  wits  as  well  as  his  own, 
and  have  the  benefit  of  his  neighbours'  strength  as 
well  as  his  own.  And  that  is  all  true  enough;  but 
that  does  not  make  a  nation.  Selfishness  can  join 
nothing;  it  may  join  a  set  of  men  for  a  time,  each 
for  his  own  ends,  just  as  a  joint-stock  company  is 
made  up;  but  it  will  split  them  up  again.  Each 
man,  in  a  merely  selfish  community,  will  begin,  after 
a  time,  to  play  on  his  own  account  as  well  as  work 
on  his  own  account — to  oppress  and  overreach  for 
his  own  ends  as  well  as  to  be  honest  and  benevolent 
for  his  own  ends,  for  he  will  find  ill-doing  far  easier, 
and  more  natural,  in  one  sense,  and  a  plan  that 
brings  in  quicker  profits,  than  well-doing;  and  so 
this  godless,  love-less,  every-man-for-himself  nation, 
or  sham  nation  rather,  this  joint-stock  company,  in 
which  fools  expect  that  universal  selfishness  will  do 
the  work  of  universal  benevolence,  will  quarrel  and 
break  up,  crumble  to  dust  again,  as  Babel  did. 
"But,"  says  God  to  Abraham,  "  I  will  make  of 
thee  a  great  nation.  I  make  nations,  and  not  they 
themselves."  So  it  is,  my  friends:  this  is  the  les- 
son which  God  taught  Abraham,  the  lesson  which 
we  English  must  learn  nowadays  over  again,  or 
smart  for  it  bitterly — that  God  makes  nations.  He 
is  King  of  kings ;  "  by  Him  kings  reign  and 
princes  decree  judgment."  He  judges  all  nations: 
He  nurtureth  the  nations.     This  is  throughout  the 


138  Abraham's  faith.  [serm. 

teaching  of  the  Psalms.  "  It  is  He  that  hath  made 
us,  and  not  we  ourselves ;  we  are  His  people,  and 
the  sheep  of  His  pasture;  "  for  this  I  take  to  be 
the  true  bearing  of  that  glorious  national  hymn, 
the  100th  Psalm,  and  not  merely  the  old  truism 
that  men  did  not  create  themselves,  when  it  exhorts 
all  nations  to  praise  God  because  it  is  he  that  made 
them  nations,  and  not  they  themselves.  The 
Psalms  set  forth  the  Son  of  God  as  the  King  of  all 
nations.  In  Him,  my  friends, — in  Him  all  the  na- 
tions of  the  earth  are  truly  blessed. 

He  the  Saviour  of  a  few  individual  souls  only? 
God  forbid !  To  him  all  power  is  given  in  heaven 
and  earth;  by  Him  were  all  things  created,  whether 
in  heaven  or  earth,  visible  and  invisible,  whether 
they  be  thrones,  or  dominions,  or  principalities,  or 
powers; — all  national  life,  all  forms  of  government, 
whether  hero-despotisms,  republics,  or  monarchies, 
aristocracies  of  birth,  or  of  wealth,  or  of  talent, — 
all  were  created  by  Him  and  for  Him,  and  he  is 
before  all  things,  and  by  Him  all  things  consist  and 
hold  together.  Every  thing  or  institution  on  earth, 
which  has  systematic  and  organic  life  in  it — by  Him 
it  consists — by  Him,  the  Life  and  the  Light  who 
lighteneth  every  man  that  cometh  into  the  world. 
From  Him  come  law,  and  order,  and  spiritual  energy, 
and  loving  fellow-feeling,  and  patriotism,  the  spirit 
of  wisdom,  and  understanding,  and  prudence — all, 
in  short,  by  which  a  nation  consists  and  holds  toge- 


XII.]  ABRAHAM'S  FAITH.  139 

ther.  It  is  not  constitutions,  and  acts  of  parliament, 
and  social  contracts,  and  rights  of  the  people,  and 
rights  of  kings,  and  so  on,  which  make  us  a  nation. 
These  are  but  the  effects,  and  not  the  consequences, 
of  the  national  life.  That  is  one  spirit  which  is 
shed  abroad  upon  a  country,  whose  builder  and  maker 
is  God,  and  which  comes  down  from  above — comes 
down  from  Christ  the  King  of  kings,  who  has  given 
each  nation  its  peculiar  work  on  this  earth,  its  pecu- 
liar circumstances  and  history  to  mould  and  educate 
it  for  its  work,  and  its  peculiar  spirit  and  national 
character,  wherewith  to  fulfil  the  destiny  which 
Christ  has  appointed  for  it. 

Believe  me,  my  friends,  it  takes  long  years,  too, 
and  much  training  from  God  and  from  Christ,  t]^e 
King  of  kings,  to  make  a  nation.  Every  thing  which 
is  most  precious  and  great  is  also  most  slow  in 
growing,  and  so  is  a  nation.  The  Scripture  com- 
pares it  everywhere  to  a  tree;  and  as  the  tree  grows, 
a  people  must  grow,  from  small  beginnings,  perhaps 
from  a  single  family,  increasing  on,  according  to 
the  fixed  laws  of  God's  world,  for  years  and  hundreds 
of  years,  till  it  becomes  a  mighty  nation,  with  one 
Lord,  one  faith,  one  wrork,  one  Spirit. 

But  again;  God  said  to  Abraham,  when  He  had 
led  him  into  this  far  country,  "Unto  thy  seed  will 
I  give  this  land."  This  was  a  great  and  a  new  lesson 
for  Abraham,  that  the  earth  belonged  to  that  same 
great  invisible  God  who  had  promised  to  guide  and 


140  Abraham's  faith.  [serm. 

protect  him,  and  make  him  into  a  nation — that  this 
same  God  gave  the  earth  to  whomsoever  He  would, 
and  allotted  to  each  people  their  proper  portion  of  it. 
"  He  (said  St.  Paul  on  the  Areopagus)  hath'  deter- 
mined the  times  before  appointed  for  all  nations,  and 
the  bounds  of  their  habitation,  that  they  may  seek 
after  the  Lord  and  find  Him."  Ah!  this  must  have 
been  a  strange  and  a  new  feeling  to  Abraham;  but, 
stranger  still,  though  God  had  given  him  this  land, 
he  was  not  to  take  possession  of  a  single  foot  of  it; 
the  land  was  already  in  the  hands  of  a  different 
nation,  the  people  of  Canaan;  and  Abraham  was  to 
go  wandering  about  a  sojourner,  as  the  text  says,  in 
this  very  land  of  promise  which  God  had  given  him, 
without  ever  taking  possession  of  his  own,  simply 
because  it  belonged  to  others  already.  How  this 
must  have  taught  Abraham  that  the  rights  of  pro- 
perty were  sacred  things — things  appointed  by  God ; 
that  it  wTas  an  awful  and  a  heinous  sin  to  make  wan- 
ton war  on  other  people,  to  drive  them  out  and  take 
possession  of  their  land ;  that  it  was  not  mere  force 
or  mere  fancy  which  gave  men  a  right  to  a  country, 
but  the  providence  of  Almighty  God !  Now  Abraham 
needed  this  warning,  for  the  men  of  Babel  seem  from 
the  first  to  have  gone  on  the  plan  of  driving  out  and 
conquering  the  tribes  round  them.  They  seem  to 
have  set  up  their  city  partly  from  ambition.  "Let 
us  make  us  a  name,"  they  said,  meaning,  'Let  us 
make  ourselves  famous  and  terrible  to  all  the  people 
around  us,  that  we  may  subdue  them.'     And  we 


XII.]  ABRAHAM'S    FAITH.  141 

read  of  Nimrod,  who  was  their  first  king  and  the 
founder  of  Babel,  that  he  was  a  mighty  hunter  before 
the  Lord,  that,  as  most  learned  men  explain  it,  a 
mighty  conqueror  and  tyrant  in  defiance  of  God  and 
His  laws,  as  the  poet  says  of  him, 

"A  mighty  hunter,  and  his  game  was  man." 

The  Jews,  indeed,  have  an  old  tradition  that 
Nimrod  cast  Abraham  into  a  fiery  furnace  for 
refusing  to  worship  the  host  of  heaven  with  him. 
The  story  is  very  likely  untrue,  but  still  it  is  of 
use  in  showing  what  sort  of  reputation  Nimrod 
left  behind  him  in  his  own  part  of  the  world.  We 
may  thus  see  that  Abraham  would  need  warning 
against  these  habits  of  violence,  tyranny,  and  plun- 
der, into  which  the  men  of  Babel  and  other  tribes 
were,  falling.  And  this  was  what  God  meant  to 
teach  him  by  keeping  him  a  stranger  and  a  pilgrim 
in  the  very  land  which  God  had  promised  to  him  for 
his  own.  Thus  Abraham  learnt  respect  for  the  rights 
and  properties  of  his  neighbours ;  thus  he  learnt  to 
look  up  in  faith  to  God,  not  only  as  his  patron  and 
protector,  but  as  the  lord  and  absolute  owner  of 
the  soil  on  which  he  stood. 

Now  in  the  14th  chapter  of  Genesis  there  is  an 
account  of  Abraham's  being  called  on  to  put  in  prac- 
tice what  he  had  learnt,  and,  by  doing  so,  learning  a 
fresh  lesson.  We  read  of  four  kings  making  war 
against  five  kings,  against  Chedorlaomer,  king  of 
13 


142  ABRAHAM'S  FAITH.  [SERM. 

Elam  or  Persia,  who  had  been  following  the  ways  of 
Nimrodand  the  men  of  Babel,  and  conquering  these 
foreign  kings  and  making  them  serve.  We  read 
of  Chedorlaomer  and  four  other  kings  coming  down 
and  wantonly  ravaging  and  destroying  other  coun- 
tries, besides  the  five  kings  who  had  rebelled  against 
them,  and  at  last  carrying  off  captive  the  people  of 
Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  and  Lot,  Abraham's  nephew. 
We  read  then  how  Abraham  armed  his  trained  ser- 
vants, born  in  his  own  house,  three  hundred  and 
eighteen  men,  and  pursued  after  these  tyrants  and 
plunderers,  and  with  his  small  force  completely  over- 
threw that  great  army.  Now  that  was  a  sign  and 
a  lesson  to  Abraham,  as  much  as  to  say, '  See  the  fruits 
of  having  the  great  God  of  heaven  and  earth  for  your 
protector  and  your  guide, — see  the  fruits  of  having 
men  round  you,  not  hirelings,  keeping  in  your  com- 
pany just  to  see  what  they  can  get  by  it,  but  born 
in  your  own  house,  who  love  and  trust  you,  whom 
you  can  love  and  trust, — see  how  the  favour  of  God, 
and  reverence  for  those  family  ties  and  duties  which 
He  has  appointed,  make  you  and  your  little  band  of 
faithful  men  superior  to  these  great  mobs  of  selfish, 
godless,  unjust  robbers, — see  how  hundreds  of  these 
slaves  ran  away  before  one  man,  who  feels  that  he  is 
a  member  of  a  family,  and  has  a  just  cause  for  fight- 
ing, and  that  God  and  his  brethren  are  with  him.' 

Here,  you  see,  was  another  hint  to  Abraham  of 
what  it  was  and  who  it  was  that  made  a  great  nation. 


XII.]  ABRAHAM'S  FAITH.  143 

And  now  some  of  you  may  say,  'This  is  a  strange 
sermon.  You  have  as  yet  said  nothing  of  Christ, 
nothing  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  nothing  of  grace,  re- 
demption, sanctification.  What  kind  of  sermon  is 
this?' 

My  friends,  do  not  be  too  sure  that  I  have  not 
been  preaching  Christ  to  you,  and  Christ's  Spirit  to 
you,  and  Christ's  redemption,  too,  most  truly  in  this 
sermon,  although  I  have  mentioned  none  of  them  by 
name.  There  are  times  for  ornamenting  the  house, 
there  are  times  for  repairing  the  wall,  there  are 
times,  too,  for  thoroughly  examining  the  foundation, 
because,  if  that  be  not  sound,  it  is  little  matter  what 
fine  work  is  built  upon  it;  and  there  are  times  when, 
as  David  says,  the  foundations  of  the  earth  are  out 
of  course,  when  men  have  forgotten  sadly  the  very 
first  principles  of  society  and  religion. 

And,  surely,  men  are  doing  so  in  these  days;  men 
are  forgetting  that  other  foundation  can  no  man  lay 
save  that  which  is  laid,  which  is  Christ;  they  lauajt 
at  the  thought  of  a  city,  that  is  a  state  and  form  M 
government,  "not  made  with  hands,  eternal  in  the 
heavens;"  they  have  forgotten  that  St.  Paul  tells 
them  in  the  Hebrews  that  we  have  "a  city  which 
hath  foundations,  whose  builder  and  maker  is  God," 
a  kingdom  which  cannot  be  moved.  Yes,  men  who 
call  themselves  learned  and  worldly  wise,  and  good 
men  too,  alas!  who  fancy  that  they  are  preaching 
God's  gospel,  go  about  and  tell  men,  'The  men  of 


144  ABRAHAM'S  FAITH.  [SERM. 

Babel  were  right  after  all.  "What  have  nations  to 
do  with  God  and  religion  ?  Nations  are  merely 
earthly,  carnal  things,  that  were  only  invented  by 
sinful  men  themselves,  to  preserve  their  bodies  and 
goods,  and  make  trading  easy.  Religion  has  only 
to  do  with  a  man's  private  opinions,  his  single  soul; 
the  government  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  Church: 
a  Christian  has  nothing  to  do  with  politics.'  And 
so  these  men*  most  unwittingly  open  a  door  to  all 
sorts  of  covetousness  and  meanness  in  the  nation, 
and  all  sorts  of  trickery  and  cowardice  in  the  govern- 
ment. Tell  a  man  that  his  business  has  nothing  to 
do  with  God,  and  you  cannot  wonder  if  he  acts 
without  thinking  of  God.  If  you  tell  a  nation  that 
it  is  selfishness  which  makes  it  prosperous,  of  course 
you  must  expect  it  to  be  selfish.  If  you  tell  us 
Englishmen  that  the  duties  of  a  citizen  are  not 
duties  to  God,  but  only  duties  to  the  constable  and 
the  tax-gatherer,  what  wonder  if  men  believe  you 
and  become  undutiful  to  God  in  their  citizenship? 
No,  my  friends;  once  for  all,  as  sure  as  God  made 
Abraham  a  great  nation,  so  if  we  English  are  a 
great  nation,  God  has  made  us  so — as  sure  as  God 
gave  Abraham  the  land  of  Canaan  for  his  possession, 
so  did  He  give  us  this  land  of  England,  when  He 
brought  our  Saxon  forefathers  out  of  the  wild  bar- 
ren north,  and  drove  out  before  them  nations  greater 
and  mightier  than  they,  and  gave  them  great  and 
goodly  cities   which  they  builded   not,   and  wells 


XII.]  ABRAHAM'S  FAITH.  145 

digged  which  they  digged  not,  farms  and  gardens 
which  they  planted  not,  that  we  too  might  fear  the 
Lord  our  God  and  serve  Him,  and  swear  by  His 
name ; — as  sure  as  He  commanded  Abraham  to  re- 
spect the  property  of  his  neighbours,  so  has  He 
commanded  us ; — as  sure  as  God  taught  Abraham 
that  the  nation  which  was  to  grow  from  him  owed 
a  duty  to  God,  and  could  be  only  strong  by  faith 
in  God,  so  it  is  with  us:  we,  English  people,  owe  a 
duty  to  God,  and  are  to  deal  among  ourselves,  and 
with  foreign  countries,  by  faith  in  God,  and  in  the 
fear  of  God,  "seeking  first  the  kingdom  of  God  and 
His  righteousness,"  sure  that  then  all  other  things 
— victory,  health,  commerce,  art  and  science — will 
be  added  to  us,  as  the  first  Lesson  says.  "For  this 
is  your  wisdom  and  understanding  in  the  sight  of 
the  nations,  which  shall  say,  Surely  this  great  na- 
tion is  a  wise  and  understanding  people  !  For  what 
nation  is  grown  so  great,  that  hath  statutes  and 
judgments  so  righteous  as  these  laws,  this  gospel, 
which  God  sets  before  us  day  by  day?"  —  us, 
Englishmen ! 

And  I  say  these  are  proper  thoughts  for  this 
place.  This  is  not  a  mere  preaching-house,  where 
you  may  learn  every  man  to  save  his  own  soul;  this 
is  a  far  nobler  place;  this  building  belongs  to  the 
National  Church  of  England,  and  we  worship  here, 
not  merely  as  men,  but  as  men  of  England,  citizens 
of  a  Christian  country,  come  here  to  learn,  not 
13* 


146  ABRAHAM'S  FAITH.  [SERM.  XII. 

merely  how  to  save  ourselves,  but  how  to  help  to- 
wards the  saving  of  our  families,  our  parish,  and 
our  nation ;  and  therefore  we  must  know  what  a 
country  and  a  nation  mean,  and  what  is  the  mean- 
ing of  that  glorious  and  divine  word,  "a  citizen;" 
that  by  learning  what  it  is  to  be  a  citizen  of  Eng- 
land, we  may  go  on  to  learn  fully  what  it  is  to  be 
a  citizen  of  the  kingdom  of  God. 

For  this  is  part  of  the  whole  counsel  of  God, 
which  He  reveals  in  His  Holy  Bible;  and  this  also 
we  must  not,  and  dare  not,  shun  declaring  in  these 
days. 


SERMON  XIII 


ABRAHAM'S  OBEDIENCE. 

"By  faith  Abraham,  when  he  was  tried,  offered  up  Isaac;  and 
he  that  had  received  the  promises  offered  up  his  only-begot- 
ten son,  of  whom  it  was  said,  That  in  Isaac  shall  thy  seed 
be  called :  accounting  that  God  was  able  to  raise  him  up, 
even  from  the  dead ;  from  whence  also  he  received  him  in  a 
figure." — Hebrews,  xi.  17 — 19. 

In  this  chapter  we  come  to  the  crowning  point 
of  Abraham's  history,  the  highest  step  and  perfec- 
tion of  his  faith ;  beyond  which  it  seems  as  if  man's 
trust  in  God  could  no  further  go. 

You  know,  most  of  you,  doubtless,  that  Isaac, 
Abraham's  son,  was  come  to  him  out  of  the  common 
course  of  nature — when  he  and  his  wife,  Sarah, 
were  of  an  age  which  seemed  to  make  all  chance  of 
a  family  utterly  hopeless.  You  remember  how  God 
promised  Abraham  that  this  boy  should.be  born  to 
him  at  a  certain  time,  when  He  appeared  to  him  on 
the  plains  of  Mamre,  in  that  most  solemn  and  deep- 
meaning  vision  of  which  I  spoke  to  you  last  Sunday. 
Yrou  remember  too,  no  doubt,  most  of  you,  how 


148  Abraham's  obedience.  [serm. 

God  had  promised  Abraham  again  and  again,  that  in 
his  seed,  his  children,  all  the  nations  of  the  earth 
should  be  blessed;  so  that  all  Abraham's  hopes  were 
wrapped  up  in  this  boy  Isaac;  he  was  his  only  son, 
whom  he  loved ;  he  was  the  child  of  his  old  age,  his 
glory  and  his  joy;  he  was  the  child  of  God's  pro- 
mises. Every  time  Abraham  looked  at  him  he  felt 
that  Isaac  was  a  wonderful  child ;  that  God  had  a 
great  work  for  him  to  do ;  that  from  that  single  boy 
a  great  nation  was  to  spring,  as  many  in  multitude 
as  the  stars  in  the  sky,  or  the  sand  on  the  sea-shore, 
for  the  great  Almighty  God  had  said  it.  And  he 
knew,  too,  that  from  that  boy,  who  was  growing  up 
by  him  in  his  tent,  all  the  nations  in  the  earth 
should  be  blessed:  so  that  Isaac,  his  son,  was  to 
Abraham  a  daily  sacrament,  as  I  may  say,  a  sign 
and  a  pledge  that  God  was  with  him,  and  would  be 
true  to  him;  that  as  surely  as  God  had  wonderfully 
and  beyond  all  hope  given  him  that  son,  so  wonder- 
fully and  beyond  all  hope  He  would  fulfil  all  His 
other  promises.  Conceive,  then,  if  you  can,  what 
Abraham's  astonishment,  and  doubt,  and  terror,  and 
misery,  must  have  been  at  such  a  message  as  this 
from  the  very  God  who  had  given  Isaac  to  him: 
"And  it  came  to  pass  after  these  things  that  God 
did  tempt  Abraham,  and  said  unto  him,  Abraham; 
and  he  said,  Behold,  here  I  am.  And  he  said,  Take 
now  thy  son,  thine  only  son  Isaac,  whom  thou  lovest, 
and  get  thee  into  the  land  of  Moriah ;  and  offer  him 


XIII.]  ABRAHAM'S  OBEDIENCE.  149 

there  for  a  burnt-offering  upon  one  of  the  moun- 
tains which  I  will  tell  thee  of." 

What  a  storm  of  doubt  it  must  have  raised  in 
Abraham's  mind!  How  unable  he  must  have  been 
to  say  whether  that  message  came  from  a  good  or 
bad  spirit,  or  commanded  him  to  do  a  good  action 
or  a  bad  one;  that  the  same  God  who  had  said, 
"Whoso  sheddeth  man's  blood,  bj  man  shall  his 
blood  be  shed;"  who  had  forbidden  murder  as  the 
very  highest  of  crimes,  should  command  him  to  shed 
the  blood  of  his  own  son;  that  the  same  God  who 
had  promised  him  that  in  Isaac  all  the  nations  of 
the  earth  should  be  blessed,  should  command  him  to 
put  to  death  that  very  son  upon  whom  all  his  hopes 
depended!  Fearful,  indeed,  must  have  been  the 
struggle  in  Abraham's  mind,  but  the  good  and  the 
right  thought  conquered  at  last.  His  feeling  was, 
no  doubt,  "This  God  who  has  blessed  me  so  long, 
who  has  guided  me  so  long,  whom  I  have  obeyed 
so  long,  shall  I  not  trust  Him  a  little  further  yet? 
how  can  I  believe  that  He  will  do  wrong?  how  can 
I  believe  that  He  will  lead  me  wrong  ?  If  it  is  really 
wrong  that  I  should  kill  my  son,  He  will  not  let  me 
do  it :  if  it  really  is  His  will  that  I  should  kill  my 
son,  I  will  do  it.  Whatever  He  says  must  be  right; 
it  is  agony  and  misery  to  me,  but  what  of  that  ?  Do 
I  not  owe  Him  a  thousand  daily  and  hourly  bless- 
ings? Has  He  not  led  me  hither,  preserved  me, 
guided  me,  taught  me  the  knowledge  of  Himself, — 


150  Abraham's  obedience.  [serm. 

chosen  me  to  be  the  father  of  a  great  nation?  Do 
I  not  owe  Him  every  thing?  and  shall  I  not  bear 
this  sharp  sorrow  for  His  sake?  I  know,  too,  that 
if  Isaac  dies,  all  my  hope,  all  my  joy,  will  die  with 
him;  that  I  shall  have  nothing  left  to  look  for, 
nothing  left  to  work  for  in  this  world.  Nothing! 
shall  I  not  have  God  left  to  me?  When  Isaac  is 
dead  will  the  Lord  die?  will  the  Lord  change?  will 
He  grow  weak  ? — Never !  Years  ago  did  He  declare 
to  me  that  He  was  the  Almighty  God;  I  will  believe 
that  He  will  be  always  Almighty;  I  will  believe  that, 
though  I  kill  my  son,  my  son  will  be  still  in  God's 
hands,  and  I  shall  be  still  in  God's  hands,  and  that 
God  is  able  to  raise  him  again,  even  from  the  dead. 
God  can  give  him  back  to  me,  and  if  He  will  not 
give  him  back  to  me,  He  can  fulfil  His  promises  in 
a  thousand  other  ways.  Ay,  and  He  will  fulfil 
His  promises,  for  in  Him  is  neither  deceit,  nor 
fickleness,  nor  weakness,  nor  unrighteousness  of 
any  kind;  and,  come  what  will,  I  will  believe  His 
promise  and  I  will  obey  His  will." 

Some  such  thoughts  as  these,  I  suppose,  passed 
through  Abraham's  mind.  He  could  not  have  had  a 
man's  heart  in  him  indeed,  if  not  only  these  thoughts, 
but  ten  thousand  more,  sadder,  and  stranger,  and 
more  pitiful  than  my  weak  brain  can  imagine,  did 
not  sweep  like  a  storm  through  his  soul  at  that 
last  and  terrible  temptation;  but  the  Bible  tells  us 
nothing  of  them:  why  should  the  Bible  tell  us  any 


xiii.]  Abraham's  obedience.  151 

thing  of  them  ?  The  Bible  sets  forth  Abraham  as  the 
faithful  man,  and  therefore  it  simply  tells  us  of  his 
faith,  without  telling  us  of  his  doubts  and  struggles 
before  he  settled  down  into  faith.  It  tells  us,  as  it 
were,  not  how  often  the  wind  shifted  and  twisted 
about  during  the  tempest,  but  in  what  quarter  the 
wind  settled  when  the  tempest  was  over,  and  it 
began  to  blow  steadily,  and  fixedly,  and  gently,  and 
all  was  bright,  and  mild,  and  still  in  Abraham's 
bosom  again,  just  as  a  man's  mind  will  be  bright, 
and  gentle,  and  calm,  even  at  the  moment  he  is  going 
to  certain  death  or  fearful  misery,  if  he  does  but 
know  that  his  suffering  is  his  duty,  and  that  his 
trial  is  his  heavenly  Father's  will:  and  so  all  we 
read  in  the  Old  Testament  account  is  simply,  "And 
Abraham  rose  up  early  in  the  morning,  and  saddled 
his  ass,  and  took  two  of  his  young  men  with  him, 
and  Isaac  his  son,  and  clave  the  wood  for  the  burnt- 
offering,  and  rose  up,  and  went  unto  the  place  of 
which  God  had  told  him.  Then  on  the  third  day 
Abraham  lifted  up  his  eyes,  and  saw  the  place  afar 
off.  And  Abraham  said  unto  his  young  men,  Abide 
ye  here  with  the  ass ;  and  I  and  the  lad  will  go 
yonder  and  worship,  and  come  again  to  you.  And 
Abraham  took  the  wood  of  the  burnt-offering,  and 
laid  it  upon  Isaac  his  son :  and  he  took  the  fire  in 
his  hand,  and  a  knife;  and  they  went  both  of  them 
together.  And  Isaac  spake  unto  Abraham  his 
father,  and  said,  My  father,  and  he  said,  Here  am  I, 


152  ABRAHAM'S  OBEDIENCE.  [SERM. 

my  son.  And  he  said,  Behold  the  fire  and  the 
wood,  but  where  is  the  lamb  for  a  burnt- offering? 
And  Abraham  said,  My  son,  God  will  provide  Himself 
a  lamb  for  a  burnt-offering.  So  they  went  both  of 
them  together.  And  they  went  to  the  place  which 
God  had  told  him  of;  and  Abraham  built  an  altar 
there,  and  laid  the  wood  in  order,  and  bound  Isaac 
his  son,  and  laid  him  on  the  altar  upon  the  wood. 
And  Abraham  stretched  forth  his  hand,  and  took 
the  knife  to  slay  his  son/' 

Really,  if  one  is  to  consider  the  whole  circum- 
stances of  Abraham's  trials,  they  seem  to  have  been 
infinite,  more  than  mortal  man  could  bear;  more 
than  he  could  have  borne,  no  doubt,  if  the  same 
God  who  tried  had  not  rewarded  his  strength  of 
mind  by  strengthening  him  still  more,  and  rewarded 
his  faith  by  increasing  his  faith;  when  we  consider 
the  struggle  he  must  have  had  to  keep  the  dreadful 
secret  from  the  young  man's  mother,  the  tremendous 
effort  of  controlling  himself,  the  long  and  frightful 
journey,  the  necessity,  and  yet  the  difficulty  he 
seems  to  have  felt  of  keeping  the  truth  from  his 
son,  and  yet  of  telling  him  the  truth,  which  he  did 
in  those  wonderful  words,  "God  shall  provide  Him- 
self a  lamb  for  a  burnt-offering,"  (on  which  I  shall 
have  occasion  to  speak  presently;)  and,  last  and 
worst  of  all,  the  perfect  obedience  and  submission 
of  his  son;  for  Isaac  was  not  a  child  then,  he  was 
a  joung  man  of  nearly  thirty  years  of  age;  strong 


xin.]  Abraham's  obedience.  153 

and  able  enough,  no  doubt,  to  have  resisted  his  aged 
father,  if  he  had  chosen.  But  the  very  excellence 
of  Isaac  seems  to  have  been,  that  he  did  not  resist, 
that  he  showed  the  same  perfect  trust  and  obedience 
to  Abraham  that  Abraham  did  towards  God ;  for  he 
was  led  "as  a  lamb  to  the  slaughter,  and  as  a  sheep 
before  her  shearers  is  dumb;  so  he  opened  not  his 
mouth,"  for  we  read,  "  Abraham  bound  Isaac  his 
son  and  laid  him  on  the  wood."  Surely  that  was 
the  bitterest  pang  of  all,  to  see  the  excellence  of  his 
son  shine  forth  just  when  it  was  too  late  for  him  to 
enjoy  him — to  find  out  what  a  perfect  child  he  had, 
in  simple  trust  and  utter  obedience,  just  at  the  very 
moment  when  he  was  going  to  lose  him;  "And 
Abraham  stretched  forth  his  hand  and  took  the 
knife  to  slay  his  son." 

At  that  point  Abraham's  trial  finished.  He  had 
shown  the  completeness  of  his  faith  by  the  complete- 
ness of  his  works,  that  is,  by  the  completeness  of  his 
obedience.  He  had  utterly  given  up  all  for  God. 
He  had  submitted  his  will  completely  to  God's  will. 
He  had  said  in  heart,  as  our  Blessed  Lord  said, 
"Father,  if  it  be  possible,  let  this  cup  pass  from  me; 
nevertheless,  not  as  I  will,  but  as  Thou  wilt;"  and 
thus  I  say,  he  was  justified  by  his  works,  by  his 
actions;  that  is,  by  his  faithful  action  he  proved  the 
faithfulness  of  his  heart,  as  the  Angel  said  to  him, 
"  Now  I  know  that  thou  fearest  God,  seeing  thou  hast 
not  withheld  thy  son,  thine  only  son  from  me :"  for  as 
14 


154  Abraham's  obedience.  [seiim. 

St.  James  says,  "Was  not  Abraham  our  father  jus- 
tified by  works  when  he  had  offered  Isaac  his  son  upon 
the  altar?     Seest  thou,"  says  he,  "how  his  faith 
wrought  with  his  works?"  how  his  works  were  the 
tool  or  instrument  which  his  faith  used;  and  by  his 
wTorks  his  faith  was  brought  to  perfection,  as  a  tree 
is  brought  to  perfection  when  it  bears  fruit  ?     "And 
so,"  St.  James  continues,  "the  scripture  was  ful- 
filled, which  says,  Abraham  believed  God,  and  it 
was  imputed  to  him  for  righteousness;  and  he  was 
called  the  friend  of  God.   Ye  see  the  V '  he  says,  "how 
that  by  works  a  man  is  justified,"  or  shown  to  be 
righteous  and  faithful,  "and  not  by  faith  only;"  that 
is,  not  by  the  mere  feeling  of  faith,  for,  as  he  says, 
"As  the  body  without  the  spirit  is  dead,  so  faith 
without  works  is  dead  also."     For  what  is  the  sign 
of  a  body's  being  dead?    It  is  its  not  being  able  to 
do  any  thing,  not  being  able  to  work,  because  there 
is  no  living  and  moving  spirit  in  it.     And  what  is 
the  sign  of  a  man's  faith  being  dead?    his  faith  not 
being  able  to  work,  because  there  is  no  living  spirit 
in  it,  but  it  is  a  mere  dead,  empty  shell  and  form  of 
words, — a  mere  notion  and  thought  about  believing 
in  a  man's  head,  but  not  a  living  trust  and  loyalty 
to  God  in  his  heart.     Therefore,  says  St.  James, 
"Show  me  thy  faith  without  thy  works,"  if  thou 
canst,  "  and  I  will  show  thee  my  faith  by  my  works," 
as  Abraham  did  by  offering  up  Isaac  his  son. 
Oh!  my  friends,  when  people  arc  talking  about 


xiii.]  Abraham's  obedience.  155 

faith  and  works,  and  trying  to  reconcile  St.  Paul 
and  St.  James,  as  they  call  it,  because  St.  Paul  says 
Abraham  was  justified  by  faith,  and  St.  James  says 
Abraham  was  justified  by  works,  if  they  would  but 
pray  for  the  simple,  childlike  heart,  and  the  head  of 
common  sense,  and  look  at  their  own  children,  who, 
every  time  they  go  on  a  message  for  them,  settle, 
without  knowing  it,  this  mighty  difference  of  man's 
making  between  faith  and  works.  You  tell  a  little 
child  daily  to  do  many  things,  the  meaning  and  use 
of  which  it  cannot  understand;  and  the  child  has 
faith  in  what  you  tell  it :  and,  therefore,  it  does  what 
you  tell  it,  and  so  it  shows  its  faith  in  you  by  obedi- 
ence in  working  for  you. 

But  to  go  on  with  the  verses:  "And  the  angel  of 
the  Lord  called  unto  Abraham  out  of  heaven  the 
second  time,  and  said,  By  myself  have  I  sworn, 
saith  the  Lord,  for  because  thou  hast  done  this  thing, 
and  hast  not  withheld  thy  son,  thine  only  son:  that 
in  blessing  I  will  bless  thee,  and  in  multiplying  I 
will  multiply  thy  seed  as  the  stars  of  the  heaven,  and 
as  the  sand  which  is  upon  the  sea-shore;  and  thy 
seed  shall  possess  the  gate  of  his  enemies ;  and  in 
thy  seed  shall  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  be  blessed, 
because  thou  hast  obeyed  my  voice." 

Now,  here  remark  two  things ;  first,  that  it  was 
Abraham's  obedience  in  giving  up  all  to  God,  which 
called  forth  from  God  this  confirmation  of  God's  pro- 
mises to  him ;  and  next,  that  God  here  promised 


156  ABRAHAM'S  OBEDIENCE.      [SERM.  XIII. 

him  nothing  new;  God  did  not  say  to  him,  'Because 
thou  hast  obeyed  me  in  this  great  matter,  I  will  give 
thee  some  great  reward  over  and  above  what  I  pro- 
mised thee.'  No;  God  merely  promises  him  over 
again,  but  more  solemnly  than  ever,  what  He  had 
promised  him  many  years  before. 

And  so  it  will  be  with  us,  my  friends;  we  must 
not  expect  to  hny  God's  favour  by  obeying  him, — we 
must  not  expect  that  the  more  we  do  for  God,  the 
more  God  will  be  bound  to  do  for  us,  as  the  Papists 
do.  No;  God  has  done  for  us  all  that  He  will  do. 
He  has  promised  us  all  that  He  will  promise.  He 
has  provided  us,  as  He  provided  Abraham,  a  lamb  for 
the  burnt- offering,  the  Lamb  without  blemish  and 
without  spot,  which  taketh  away  the  sins  of  the 
world.  We  are  His  redeemed  people — we  have  a 
share  in  His  promises- — He  bids  us  believe  that,  and 
show  that  we  believe  it  by  living  as  redeemed  men, 
not  our  own,  but  bought  with  a  price,  and  created 
anew  in  Christ  Jesus  to  do  good  works;  not  that  we 
may  buy  forgiveness  by  them,  but  that  we  may  show 
by  them  that  we  believe  that  God  has  forgiven  us 
already,  and  that  when  we  have  done  all  that  is  com- 
manded us,  we  are  still  unprofitable  servants ;  for 
though  we  should  give  up  at  God's  bidding  our 
children,  our  wives,  and  our  own  limbs  and  lives, 
and  show  as  utter  faith  in  God,  and  complete  obe- 
dience to  God,  as  Abraham  did,  we  should  only  have 
done  just  what  it  was  already  our  duty  to  do. 


SERMON  XIV 


OUR  FATHER  IN  HEAVEN. 

'  I  write  unto  you,  little  children,  because  you  have  known  the 
Father."— 1  John,  ii.  13. 

I  preached  some  time  ago  a  sermon  on  the 
whole  of  these  most  deep  and  blessed  verses  of  St. 
John. 

I  now  wish  to  speak  to  those  who  are  of  an  age  to  be 
confirmed  three  separate  sermons  on  three  separate 
parts  of  these  verses.  First,  to  those  whom  St.  John 
calls  little  children ;  next,  to  those  whom  He  calls 
grown  men.  To  the  first  I  will  speak  to-day;  to  the 
latter,  by  God's  help,  next  Sunday.  And  may  the 
Blessed  One  bring  home  my  weak  words  to  all 
vour  hearts ! 

V 

Now  for  the  meaning  of  "little  children."  There 
are  those  who  will  tell  you  that  those  words  mean 
merely  "weak  believers,"  "babes  in  grace,"  and  so 
on.  They  mean  that,  no  doubt;  but  they  mean 
much  more.  They  mean,  first  of  all,  to  be  sure,  what 
they  say.  St.  John  would  not  have  said  "little 
14* 


158  OUR  FATHER  IN  HEAVEN.  [SERM. 

children,"  if  he  had  not  meant  little  children.  Sure- 
ly God's  apostle  did  not  throw  about  his  words  at 
random,  so  as  to  leave  them  open  to  mistakes,  and 
want  some  one  to  step  in  and  tell  us  that  they  do 
not  mean  their  plain,  common-sense  meaning,  but 
something  else.  Holy  Scripture  is  too  wisely  writ- 
ten, and  too  awful  a  matter  to  be  trifled  with  in  that 
way,  and  cut  and  squared  to  suit  our  own  fancies, 
and  explained  away,  till  its  blessed  promises  are 
made  to  mean  any  thing  or  nothing. 

No !  By  little  children,  St.  John  means  here  chil- 
dren in  age — of  course  Christian  children  and  young 
people,  for  he  was  writing  only  to  Christians.  He 
speaks  to  those  who  have  been  christened,  and 
brought  up,  more  or  less,  as  christened  children 
should  be.  But,  no  doubt,  when  he  says  little  chil- 
dren, he  means  also  all  Christian  people,  whether 
they  be  young  or  old,  whose  souls  are  still  young, 
and  weak,  and  unlearned.  All,  however  old  they 
may  be,  who  have  not  been  confirmed — I  do  not 
merely  mean  confirmed  by  the  bishop,  but  con- 
firmed by  God's  grace — all  those  who  have  not  yet 
come  to  a  full  knowledge  of  their  own  sins — all 
who  have  not  yet  been  converted,  and  turned  to  God 
with  their  whole  hearts  and  wills,  who  have  not  yet 
made  their  full  choice  between  God  and  sin, —  all 
who  have  not  yet  fought  for  themselves  the  battle 
which  no  man  or  angel  can  fight  for  them — I  mean 
the  battle  beUveen  their  selfishness  and  their  duty-~ 


XIV.]  OUR  FATIIER  IN  HEAVEN.  159 

the  battle  between  their  love  of  pleasure  and  their 
fear  of  sin — the  battle,  in  short,  between  the  devil 
and  his  temptations  to  darkness  and  shame,  and 
God  and  His  promises  of  light,  and  strength,  and 
glory, — all  who  have  not  been  converted  to  God, 
to  them  St.  John  speaks  as  little  children — people 
who  are  not  yet  strong  enough  to  stand  alone, 
and  do  their  duty  on  God's  side  against  sin,  the 
world,  and  the  devil.  And  all  of  you  here  who 
have  not  yet  made  up  your  minds,  who  have  not 
yet  been  confirmed  in  soul, — whether  you  were 
confirmed  by  the  bishop  or  not, — to  you  I  speak 
this  day. 

Now,  first  of  all,  consider  this, — that  though  St. 
John  calls  you  "little  children,"  because  you  are  still 
weak,  and  your  souls  are  not  grown  to  manhood, 
yet  he  does  not  speak  to  you  as  if  you  were  heathens 
and  knew  nothing  about  God;  he  says,  "I  have 
written  unto  you,  little  children,  because  ye  have 
known  the  Father."  Consider  that;  that  was  his 
reason  for  all  that  he  had  written  to  them  before; 
that  they  had  known  the  Father,  the  God  who  made 
heaven  and  earth — the  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ — the  Father  of  little  children — my  Father 
and  your  Father,  my  friends,  little  as  we  may  be- 
have like  what  we  are,  sons  of  the  Almighty  God. 
That  was  St.  John's  reason  for  speaking  to  little 
children,  because  they  had  already  known  the  Father. 
So  he  does  not  speak  to  them  as  if  they  were  hea- 


160  OUR  FATHER  IN  HEAVEN.  [SERM. 

thens;  and  I  dare  not  speak  to  you,  young  people, 
as  if  you  were  heathens,  however  foolish  and  sinful 
some  of  you  may  be ;  I  dare  not  do  it,  whatever 
many  preachers  may  do  nowadays ;  not  because  I 
should  be  unfair  and  hard  upon  you  merely,  but 
because  I  should  lie,  and  deny  the  great  grace  and 
mercy  which  God  has  shown  you,  and  count  the 
blood  of  the  covenant,  with  which  you  were  sprinkled 
at  baptism,  an  unholy  thing;  and  do  despite  to  the 
Spirit  of  grace  which  has  been  struggling  in  your 
hearts,  trying  to  lead  you  out  of  sin  into  good,  out 
of  light  into  darkness,  ever  since  you  were  born. 
Therefore,  as  St.  John  said,  I  say,  I  preach  this 
day  to  you,  young  people,  because  you  have  known 
your  Father  in  heaven. 

But  some  of  you  may  say  to  me,  '  You  put  a  great 
honour  on  us;  but  we  do  not  see  that  we  have  any 
right  to  it.  You  tell  us  that  we  have  a  very  noble 
and  awful  knowledge — that  we  know  the  Father. 
We  are  afraid  that  we  do  not  know  Him ;  we  do 
not  even  rightly  understand  of  whom  or  what  you 
preach.' 

Well,  my  young  friends,  these  are  very  awful 
words  of  St.  John;  such  blessed  and  wonderful 
words,  that  if  we  did  not  find  them  in  the  Bible,  it 
would  be  madness  and  insolence  to  God  of  us  to  say 
such  a  thing,  not  merely  of  little  children,  but  even 
of  the  greatest,  and  wisest,  and  holiest  man  who  ever 
lived;  but  there  they  are  in  the  Bible — the  blessed 


XIV.]  OUR  FATHER  IN  HEAVEN.  161 

Lord  himself  has  told  us  all,  "When  ye  pray,  say, 
Our  Father  in  heaven;" — and  I  dare  not  keep  them 
back  because  they  sound  strange.  They  may  sound 
strange,  but  they  are  not  strange.  Any  one  "who 
has  ever  watched  a  young  child's  heart,  and  seen 
how  naturally  and  at  once  the  little  innocent  takes 
in  the  thought  of  his  Father  which  is  in  heaven, 
knows  that  it  is  not  a  strange  thought — that  it 
comes  to  a  little  child  almost  by  instinct— that  his 
Father  in  heaven  seems  often  to  be  just  the  thought 
which  fills  his  heart  most  completely,  has  most 
power  over  him, — the  thought  which  has  been  lying 
ready  in  his  heart  all  the  time,  only  waiting  for 
some  one  to  awaken  it,  and  put  it  into  words  for 
him;  that  he  will  do  right  when  you  put  him  in 
mind  of  his  Father  above  the  skies,  sooner  than  he 
will  for  a  hundred  punishments.  For  truly  says 
the  poet, — 

"  Heaven  lies  about  us  in  our  infancy, 
Not  in  complete  forgetfulness, 
Nor  yet  in  utter  nakedness, 
But  trailing  clouds  of  glory  do  we  come, 
From  God  wlio  is  our  home!  " 

And  yet  more  truly  said  the  Blessed  One  Himself, 
"That  children's  angels  always  behold  the  face  of 
our  Father  which  is  in  heaven  ;  "  and  that  "  of  such 
is  the  kingdom  of  heaven."  Yet  you  say,  some  of 
you,  perhaps,  "Whatever  knowledge  of  our  Father 
in  heaven  we  had,  or  ought  to  have  had,  when  we 


162  OUR  FATHER  IN  HEAVEN.  [SERM. 

were  young,  we  have  lost  it  now.  We  have  for- 
gotten what  we  learned  at  school.  We  have  been 
what  you  would  call  sinful;  at  all  events,  we  have 
been  thinking  all  our  time  about  a  great  many 
things  beside  religion,  and  they  have  quite  put  out 
of  our  head  the  thought  that  God  is  our  Father. 
So  how  have  we  known  our  Father  in  heaven?  " 

Well,  then,  to  answer  that, — consider  the  case 
of  your  earthly  father,  the  men  who  begot  you  and 
brought  you  up.  Now  there  might  be  one  of  you 
who  had  never  seen  his  father  since  he  was  born, 
but  all  he  knows  of  him  is,  that  his  name  is  so  and 
so,  and  that  he  is  such  and  such  a  sort  of  man,  as 
the  case  might  be;  and  that  he  lives  in  such  and 
such  a  place,  far  away,  and  that  now  and  then  he 
hears  talk  of  his  father,  or  receives  letters  or  pre- 
sents from  him.  Suppose  I  asked  that  young  man, 
Do  you  know  your  father?  would  he  not  answer, 
— would  he  not  have  a  right  to  answer,  "Yes,  I 
know  him.  I  never  saw  him,  or  was  acquainted 
with  him,  but  I  know  him  well  enough ;  I  know  who 
he  is,  and  where  to  find  him,  and  what  sort  of  a  man 
he  is."  That  young  man  might  not  know  his  father's 
face,  or  love  him,  or  care  for  him  at  all.  He  might 
have  been  disobedient  to  his  father;  he  might  have 
forgotten  for  years  that  he  had  a  father  at  all,  and 
might  have  lived  on  his  own  way,  just  as  if  he  had 
no  father.  But  when  he  was  put  in  mind  of  it  all, 
would  he  not  say  at  once,  "Yes,  I  know  my  father  • 


XIV.]        OUR  FATHER  IN  HEAVEN;         163 

well  enough;  his  name  is  so  and  so,  and  he  lives  at 
such  and  such  a  place.     I  know  my  father." 

Well,  my  young  friends,  and  if  this  would  be  true 
of  your  fathers  on  earth,  it  is  just  as  true  of  your 
Father  in  heaven.  You  have  never  seen  Him — you 
may  have  forgotten  Him — you  may  have  disobeyed 
Him — you  may  have  lived  on  your  own  way,  as  if 
you  had  no  Father  in  heaven;  still  you  know  that 
you  have  a  Father  in  heaven.  You  pray,  surely, 
sometimes.  What  do  you  say  ?  "  Our  Father  which 
art  in  heaven."  So  you  have  a  Father  in  heaven, 
else  what  right  have  you  to  use  those  words, — what 
right  have  you  to  say  to  God,  "Our  Father  in  hea- 
ven," if  you  believe  that  you  have  no  Father  there? 
That  would  be  only  blasphemy  and  mockery.  I  can 
well  understand  that  you  have  often  said  those 
words  without  thinking  of  them — without  thinking 
what  a  blessed,  glorious,  soul-saving  meaning  there 
was  in  them;  but  I  will  not  believe  that  you  never 
once  in  your  whole  lives  said,  "  Our  Father  which 
art  in  heaven,"  without  believing  them  to  be  true 
words.  What  I  want  is,  for  you  always  to  believe 
them  to  be  true.  Oh,  young  men  and  young  women, 
boys  and  girls — believe  those  words,  believe  that 
when  you  say,  "Our  Father  which  art  in  heaven," 
you  speak  God's  truth  about  yourselves ;  that  the  evil 
devil  rages  when  he  hears  you  speak  those  words, 
because  they  are  the  words  which  prove  that  you  do 
not  belong  to  him  and  to  hell,  but  to  God  and  the 


164  OUR  FATHER  IN  HEAVEN.  [SERM. 

kingdom  of  heaven.  Oh,  believe  those  words — be- 
have as  if  you  believed  those  words,  and  you  shall 
see  what  will  come  of  them,  through  all  eternity  for 
ever. 

Well,  but  you  will  ask,  What  has  all  this  to  do 
with  confirmation  ?  It  has  all  to  do  with  confirma- 
tion. Because  you  are  God's  children,  and  know 
that  you  are  God's  children,  you  are  to  go  and  con- 
firm before  the  bishop  your  right  to  be  called  God's 
children.  You  are  to  go  and  claim  your  share  in 
God's  kingdom.  If  you  were  heir  to  an  estate,  you 
would  go  and  claim  your  estate  from  those  who  held 
it.  You  are  heirs  to  an  estate — you  are  heirs  to  the 
kingdom  of  heaven;  go  to  confirmation,  and  claim 
that  kingdom;  say,  "I  am  a  citizen  of  God's  king- 
dom. Before  the  bishop  and  the  congregation,  here 
I  proclaim  the  honour  which  God  has  put  upon  me." 
If  you  have  a  father,  you  will  surely  not  be  ashamed 
to  own  him  !  How  much  more  when  the  Almighty 
God  of  heaven  is  your  Father !  You  will  not  be 
ashamed  to  own  Him  ?  Then  go  to  confirmation ; 
for  by  doing  so  you  own  God  for  your  Father.  If 
you  have  an  earthly  father,  you  will  not  be  ashamed 
to  say,  "I  know  I  ought  to  honour  him  and  obey 
him; "  how  much  more  when  your  father  is  the  Al- 
mighty God  of  heaven,  who  sent  His  own  Son  into 
the  world  to  die  for  you,  who  is  daily  heaping  you 
with  blessings  body  and  soul!  You  will  not  be 
ashamed  to  confess  that  you  ought  to  honour  and 


XIV.]        OUR  FATHER  IN  HEAVEN.         1G5 

obey  him?  Then  go  to  confirmation,  and  say,  "I 
here  take  upon  myself  the  vow  and  promise  made 
for  me  at  my  baptism.  I  am  God's  child,  and  there- 
fore I  will  honour,  love,  and  obey  him.  It  is  my 
duty;  and  it  shall  be  my  delight  henceforward  to 
work  for  God,  to  do  all  the  good  I  can  to  my  life's 
end,  because  my  Father  in  heaven  loves  the  good, 
and  has  commanded  me,  poor,  weak  countryman 
though  I  be,  to  work  for  Him  in  well-doing."  So  I 
say,  If  God  is  your  Father,  go  and  own  Him  at 
confirmation.  If  God  is  your  Father,  go  and  pro- 
mise to  love  and  obey  Him  at  confirmation ;  and  see 
if  He  does  not,  like  a  strong  and  loving  Father  as 
He  is,  confirm  you  in  return, — see  if  he  does  not 
give  you  strength  of  heart,  and  peace  of  mind,  and 
clear,  quiet,  pure  thoughts,  such  as  a  man  or  woman 
ought  to  have  who  considers  that  the  great  God, 
who  made  the  sky  and  stars  above  their  heads,  is 
their  Father.  But  perhaps  there  are  some  of  you 
young  people  who  do  not  wish  to  be  confirmed? 
And  why  ?  Now  look  honestly  into  your  own  hearts 
and  see  the  reason.  Is  it  not,  after  all,  because  you 
don't  like  the  trouble  P  Because  you  are  afraid  that 
being  confirmed  will  force  you  to  think  seriously 
and  be  religious;  and  you  had  rather  not  take  all 
that  trouble  yet?  Is  it  not  because  you  do  not  like 
to  look  your  own  selves  in  the  face,  and  see  how 
foolishly  you  have  been  living,  and  how  many  bad 
habits  you  will  have  to  give  up,  and  what  a  thorough 
15 


166  OUR  FATHER  IN  HEAVEN.  [SERM. 

conversion  and  change  you  must  make  if  you  are 
to  be  confirmed  in  earnest?  Is  not  this  why  you 
do  not  wish  to  be  confirmed?  And  what  does  that 
all  come  to  ?  That  though  you  know  you  are  God's 
children,  you  do  not  like  to  tell  people  publicly  that 
you  are  God's  children,  lest  they  should  expect  you 
to  behave  like  God's  children — that  is  it.  Now, 
young  men  and  young  women,  think  seriously,  once 
for  all;  if  you  have  any  common  sense — I  do  not 
say  grace — left  in  you,  think.  Are  you  not  play- 
ing a  fearful  game  ?  You  would  not  dare  to  deny 
your  fathers  upon  earth — to  refuse  to  obey  them, 
because  you  know  well  enough  that  they  would 
punish  you — that  if  you  were  too  old  for  punish- 
ment, your  neighbours,  at  least,  would  despise  you 
for  mean,  ungrateful,  and  rebellious  children.  But 
because  you  cannot  see  God,  your  Father — because 
you  have  not  some  sign  or  wonder  hanging  in  the 
sky  to  frighten  you  into  good  behaviour,  therefore 
you  are  not  afraid  to  turn  your  backs  on  him.  My 
friends,  it  is  ill  mocking  the  living  God.  Mark  my 
words!  if  a  man  will  not  turn,  He  will  whet  His 
sword  and  make  us  feel  it.  You  who  can  be  con- 
firmed, and  know  in  your  hearts  that  you  ought  to 
be  confirmed,  and  ought  to  be  really  converted  and 
confirmed  in  soul,  and  make  no  mockery  of  it — 
mark  my  words !  if  you  will  not  be  converted 
and  confirmed  of  your  own  good  will,  God,  if  He 
has  any  love  left  for  you,  will  convert  and  confirm 


XIV.]  OUR  FATHER  IK  HEAVEN.  167 

you  against  your  will.  He  will  let  you  go  your  own 
ways  till  you  find  out  your  own  folly.  He  will 
bring  you  low  with  affliction  perhaps,  with  sickness, 
with  ill  success,  with  shame.  Some  way  or  other,  He 
will  chastise  you,  again  and  again,  till  you  are  forced 
to  come  back  to  Him,  and  take  His  service  on  you. 
If  He  loves  you,  He  will  drive  you  home  to  your 
Father's  house.  You  may  laugh  at  my  words  now ; 
see  if  you  laugh  at  them  when  your  hairs  are  gray. 
Oh,  young  people,  if  you  wish  in  after-life  to  save 
yourselves  shame  and  sorrow,  and  perhaps,  in  the 
world  to  come,  eternal  death,  come  to  confirmation, 
acknowledge  God  for  your  Father,  promise  to  come 
and  serve  Him  faithfully,  make  those  blessed  words 
of  the  Lord's  Prayer,  "Our  Father  in  heaven," 
your  glory  and  your  honour,  your  guide  and  guard 
through  life,  your  title  deeds  to  heaven.  You  who 
know  that  the  Great  God  is  your  Father,  will  you 
be  ashamed  to  own  yourselves  His  sons  ? 


SERMON  XV. 


THE  TRANSFIGURATION. 

"  Jesus  taketh  Peter,  and  James,  and  John,  and  leadeth  them 
up  into  a  high  mountain  apart,  and  was  transfigured  before 
them." — Mark,  ix.  2. 

The  second  lesson  for  this  morning  service  brings 
us  to  one  of  the  most  wonderful  passages  in  our 
blessed  Saviour's  whole  stay  on  earth,  namely,  His 
transfiguration.  The  story,  as  told  by  the  different 
Evangelists,  is  this, — That  our  Lord  took  Peter,  and 
John,  and  James  his  brother,  and  led  them  up  into 
a  high  mountain  apart,  which  mountain  may  be  seen 
to  this  very  day.  It  is  a  high  peaked  hill,  stand- 
ing apart  from  all  the  hills  around  it,  with  a  small 
smooth  space  of  ground  upon  the  top,  very  fit,  from 
its  height  and  its  loneliness,  for  a  transaction  like  the 
transfiguration,  which  our  Lord  wished  no  one  but 
these  three  to  behold.  There  the  apostles  fell  asleep ; 
while  our  blessed  Lord,  who  had  deeper  thoughts  in 
His  heart  than  they  had,  knelt  down  and  prayed  to 
His  Father  and  our  Father,  which  is  in  heaven. 
And  as  He  prayed,  the  form  of  His  countenance  was 
changed,  and  His  raiment  became  shining,  white  as 


SERM.  XV.]        THE  TRANSFIGURATION.  169 

the  light;  and  there  appeared  Moses  and  Elijah 
talking  with  Him.  They  talked  of  matters  which 
the  angels  desire  to  look  into,  of  the  greatest  matters 
that  ever  happened  in  this  earth  since  it  was  made ; 
of  the  redemption  of  the  world,  and  of  the  death 
which  Christ  was  to  undergo  at  Jerusalem.  And  as 
they  wTere  talking,  the  apostles  awoke,  and  found 
into  what  glorious  company  they  had  fallen  while 
they  slept.  What  they  felt  no  mortal  man  can  tell 
— that  moment  was  worth  to  them  all  the  years  they 
had  lived  before.  When  they  had  gone  up  with 
Jesus  into  the  mount,  He  was  but  the  poor  car- 
penter's son,  wonderful  enough  to  them,  no  doubt, 
with  His  wise,  searching  words,  and  His  gentle, 
loving  looks,  that  drew  to  Him  all  men  who  had 
hearts  left  in  them,  and  wonderful  enough,  too,  from 
all  the  mighty  miracles  which  they  had  seen  Him 
do,  but  still  he  wTas  merely  a  man  like  themselves, 
poor,  and  young,  and  homeless,  who  felt  the  heat, 
and  the  cold,  and  the  rough  roads  as  much  as  they 
did.  They  could  feel  that  he  spake  as  never  man 
spake — they  could  see  that  God's  Spirit  and  power 
was  on  Him  as  it  had  never  been  on  any  man  in 
their  time.  God  had  even  enlightened  their  reason 
by  His  Spirit,  to  know  that  he  was  the  Christ,  the 
Son  of  the  living  God.  But  still  it  does  seem  they 
did  not  fully  understand  who,  and  what  He  was;  they 
could  not  understand  how  the  Son  of  God  should 
come  in  the  form  of  a  despised  and  humble  man; 
15* 


170  THE  TRANSFIGURATION.  [SERM. 

they  did  not  understand  that  His  glory  was  to  be  a 
spiritual  glory.  They  expected  His  kingdom  to 
be  a  kingdom  of  this  world — they  expected  His 
glory  to  consist  in  palaces,  and  armies,  and  riches, 
and  jewels,  and  all  the  magnificence  with  which  So- 
lomon and  the  old  Jewish  kings  were  adorned;  they 
thought  that  he  was  to  conquer  back  again  from 
the  Roman  emperor  all  the  inestimable  treasures  of 
which  the  Romans  had  robbed  the  Jews,  and  that 
He  was  to  make  the  Jewish  nation,  like  the  Roman, 
the  conquerors  and  masters  of  all  the  nations  of  the 
earth.  So  that  it  was  a  puzzling  thing  to  their 
minds  why  he  should  be  King  of  the  Jews  at  the 
very  time  that  he  was  but  a  poor  tradesman's 
son,  living  on  charity.  It  was  to  show  them  that 
His  kingdom  was  the  kingdom  of  heaven  that  He 
was  transfigured  before  them. 

They  saw  His  glory — the  glory  as  of  the  only- 
begotten  of  the  Father,  full  of  grace  and  truth. 
The  form  of  His  countenance  was  changed;  all  the 
majesty,  and  courage,  and  wisdom,  and  love,  and 
resignation,  and  pity,  that  lay  in  His  noble  heart, 
shone  out  through  His  face,  while  He  spoke  of  His 
death  which  he  should  accomplish  at  Jerusalem — 
the  Holy  Ghost  that  was  upon  Him,  the  spirit  of 
wisdom,  and  love,  and  beauty — the  spirit  which  pro- 
duces every  thing  that  is  lovely  in  heaven  and  earth, 
in  soul  and  body,  blazed  out  through  His  eyes,  and 
all  His  glorious  countenance,  and  made  Him  look 


XV.]  THE  TRANSFIGURATION.  171 

like  what  He  was — a  God.  My  friends,  what  a 
sight!  Would  it  not  be  worth  while  to  journey 
thousands  of  miles — to  go  through  all  difficulties, 
dangers,  that  man  ever  heard  of,  for  one  sight  of 
that  glorious  face,  that  we  might  fall  down  upon  our 
knees  before  it,  and,  if  it  were  but  for  a  moment, 
give  way  to  the  delight  of  finding  something  that  we 
could  utterly  love  and  utterly  adore?  I  say,  the 
delight  of  finding  something  to  worship ;  for  if  there 
is  a  noble,  if  there  is  a  holy,  if  there  is  a  spiritual 
feeling  in  man,  it  is  the  feeling  which  bows  him 
down  before  those  who  are  greater,  and  wiser,  and 
holier  than  himself.  I  say,  that  feeling  of  respect 
for  what  is  noble  is  a  heavenly  feeling.  The  man 
who  has  lost  it — the  man  who  feels  no  respect  for 
those  who  are  above  him  in  age,  above  him  in  know- 
ledge, above  him  in  wisdom,  above  him  in  goodness, 
— that  man  shall  in  no  wrise  enter  into  the  kingdom 
of  heaven.  It  is  only  the  man  who  is  like  a  little 
child,  and  feels  the  delight  of  having  some  one  to 
look  up  to,  who  will  ever  feel  delight  in  looking  up 
to  Jesus  Christ,  who  is  the  Lord  of  lords  and  King 
of  kings.  It  was  the  want  of  respect,  it  was  the 
dislike  of  feeling  any  one  superior  to  himself,  which 
made  the  devil  rebel  against  God,  and  fall  from 
heaven.  It  will  be  the  feeling  of  complete  respect — 
the  feeling  of  kneeling  at  the  feet  of  one  who  is  im- 
measurably superior  to  ourselves  in  every  thing,  that 
will  make  up  the  greatest  happiness  of  heaven. 


172  THE    TRANSFIGURATION.  [SERM. 

This  is  a  hard  saying,  and  no  man  can  understand 
it,  save  he  to  whom  it  is  given  by  the  Spirit  of  God. 
That  the  apostles  had  this  feeling  of  immeasura- 
ble respect  for  Christ  there  is  no  doubt,  else  they 
would  never  have  been  apostles.  But  they  felt  more 
than  this.  There  were  other  wonders  in  that  glo- 
rious vision  besides  the  countenance  of  our  Lord. 
His  raiment,  too,  was  changed,  and  became  all  bril- 
liant, white  as  the  light  itself.  Was  not  that  a 
lesson  to  them?  Was  it  not  as  if  our  Lord  had 
said  to  them,  'lam  a  king,  and  have  put  on  glo- 
rious apparel;  but  whence  does  the  glory  of  my  rai- 
ment come  ?  I  have  no  need  of  fine  linen,  and  pur- 
ple, and  embroidery,  the  work  of  men's  hands;  1 
have  no  need  to  send  my  subjects  to  mines  and  caves 
to  dig  gold  and  jewels  to  adorn  my  crown:  the 
earth  is  mine  and  the  fulness  thereof.  All  this 
glorious  earth,  with  its  trees  and  its  flowers,  its  sun- 
beams and  its  storms,  is  mine.  J  made  it — Jean  do 
what  I  will  with  it.  All  the  mysterious  laws  by 
which  the  light  and  the  heat  flow  out  for  ever  from 
God's  throne,  to  lighten  the  sun,  and  the  moon,  and 
the  stars  of  heaven — they  are  mine.  Jam  the  light 
of  the  world — the  light  of  men's  bodies  as  well  of 
their  souls ;  and  here  is  my  proof  of  it.  Look  at 
Me.  I  am  He  that  "  decketh  Himself  with  light  as  it 
were  with  a  garment,  who  layeth  the  beams  of  His 
chambers  in  the  waters,  and  walketh  upon  the  wings 
of  the  wind."     This  was  the  message  which  Christ's 


XV.]  THE  TRANSFIGURATION.  173 

glory  brought  the  apostles — a  message  which  they 
could  never  forget.  The  spiritual  glory  of  His 
countenance  had  shown  them  that  he  was  a  spiritual 
king — that  His  strength  lay  in  the  spirit  of  power, 
and  wisdom,  and  beauty,  and  love,  which  God  had 
given  Him  without  measure ;  and  it  showed  them, 
too,  that  there  was  such  a  thing  as  a  spiritual  body, 
such  a  body  as  each  of  us»some  day  shall  have  if 
we  be  found  in  Christ  at  the  resurrection  of  the  just 
— a  body  which  shall  not  hide  a  man's  spirit  when 
it  becomes  subject  to  the  wear  and  tear  of  life,  and 
disease,  and  decay;  but  a  spiritual  body — a  body 
which  shall  be  filled  with  our  spirits,  which  shall 
be  perfectly  obedient  to  our  spirits — a  body  through 
which  the  glory  of  our  spirits  shall  shine  out,  as 
the  glory  of  Christ's  spirit  shone  out  through  His 
body  at  the  transfiguration.  Brethren,  we  know 
not  yet  what  we  shall  be,  but  this  we  do  know,  that 
when  He  shall  appear,  "we  shall  be  like  him,  for 
we  shall  see  Him  as  He  is."  (1  John,  iii.  2.) 

Thus  our  Lord  taught  them  by  His  appearance 
that  there  is  such  a  thing  as  a  spiritual  body,  while, 
by  the  glory  of  His  raiment  in  addition  to  His 
other  miracles,  He  taught  them  that  He  had  power 
over  the  laws  of  nature,  and  could,  in  His  own  good 
time,  "change  the  bodies  of  their  humiliation,  that 
they  might  be  made  like  unto  His  glorious  body, 
according  to  the  mighty  working  by  which  He  is 
able  to  subdue  all  things  to  Himself," 


174  THE  TRANSFIGURATION.  [SERM. 

But  there  was  yet  another  lesson  which  the  apos- 
tles learned  from  the  transfiguration  of  our  Lord. 
They  beheld  Moses  and  Elijah  talking  with  Him : 
— Moses  the  great  lawgiver  of  their  nation,  Elijah 
the  chief  of  all  the  Jewish  prophets.  We  must 
consider  this  a  little  to  find  out  the  whole  depth  of 
its  meaning.  You  remember  how  Christ  had  spoken 
of  Himself  as  having  come,  not  to  destroy  the  Law 
and  the  Prophets,  but  to  fulfil  them.  You  remem- 
ber, too,  how  He  had  always  said  that  He  was  the 
person  of  whom  the  Law  and  the  Prophets  had 
spoken. 

Here  was  an  actual  sign  and  witness  that  His 
words  were  true — here  was  Moses,  the  giver  of  the 
Law,  and  Elijah,  the  chief  of  the  Prophets,  talking 
with  Him,  bearing  witness  to  Him  in  their  own  per- 
sons, and  showing,  too,  that  it  was  His  death  and 
His  perfect  sacrifice  that  they  had  been  shadowing 
forth  in  the  sacrifices  of  the  law  and  in  the  dark 
speeches  of  prophecy.  For  they  talked  with  Him 
of  His  death,  which  He  was  to  accomplish  at  Jeru- 
salem. What  more  perfect  testimony  could  the 
apostles  have  had  to  show  them  that  Jesus  of  Naza- 
reth, their  Master,  was  He  of  whom  the  Law  and 
the  Prophets  spoke — that  He  was  indeed  the  Christ 
for  whom  Moses  and  Elijah,  and  all  the  saints  of 
old,  had  looked;  and  that  He  was  come,  not  to  de- 
stroy the  Law  and  the  Prophets,  but  to  fulfil  them? 
We  can  hardly  understand  the  awe  and  the  delight 
with  which  the  disciples  must  have  beheld  those 


XV.]  THE  TRANSFIGURATION.  175 

blessed  three — Moses,  and  Elias,  and  Jesus  Christ, 
their  Lord,  talking  together  before  their  very  -eyes. 
For  of  all  men  in  the  world,  Moses  and  Elias  were 
to  them  the  greatest.  All  true-hearted  Israelites, 
who  knew  the  history  of  their  nation,  and  understood 
the  promises  of  God,  must  have  felt  that  Moses  and 
Elias  were  the  two  greatest  heroes  and  saviours  of 
their  nation,  whom  God  had  ever  yet  raised  up.  And 
the  joy  and  the  honour  of  thus  seeing  them  face  to 
face,  the  very  men  whom  they  had  loved  and  reve- 
renced in  their  thoughts,  whom  they  had  heard  and 
read  of  from  their  childhood,  as  the  greatest  orna- 
ments and  glories  of  their  nation — the  joy  and  the 
honour,  I  say,  of  that  unexpected  sight,  added  to  the 
wonderful  majesty  which  was  suddenly  revealed  to 
their  transfigured  Lord,  seemed  to  have  been  too 
much  for  them — they  knew  not  what  to  say.  Such 
company  seemed  to  them  for  the  moment  heaven 
enough ;  and  St.  Peter,  first  finding  words,  ex- 
claimed, "  Lord,  it  is  good  for  us  to  be  here.  If 
thou  wilt,  let  us  build  three  tabernacles,  one  for 
Thee,  and  one  for  Moses,  and  one  for  Elias.  Not, 
I  fancy,  that  they  intended  to  worship  Moses  and 
Elias,  but  that  they  felt  that  Moses  and  Elias,  as 
well  as  Christ,  had  each  a  divine  message,  which 
must  be  listened  to ;  and  therefore,  they  wished  that 
each  of  them  might  have  his  own  tabernacle,  and 
dwell  among  men,  and  each  teach  his  own  particular 
doctrine  and  wisdom  in  his  own  school.     It  may 


176  THE  TRANSFIGURATION.  [SERM. 

seem  strange  that  they  should  put  Moses  and  Elias 
so  on  an  equality  with  Christ,  but  the  truth  was, 
that  as  yet  they  understood  Moses  and  Elias  better 
than  they  did  Christ.  They  had  heard  and  read  of 
Moses  and  Elijah  all  their  lives — they  were  acquaint- 
ed with  all  their  actions  and  words — they  knew  tho- 
roughly what  great  and  noble  men  the  Spirit  of  God 
had  made  them,  but  they  did  not  understand  Christ 
in  like  manner.  They  did  not  yet  feel  that  God  had 
given  Him  the  Spirit  without  measure — they  did  not 
understand  that  He  was  not  only  to  be  a  lawgiver 
and  a  prophet,  but  a  sacrifice  for  sin,  the  conqueror 
of  death  and  hell,  who  was  to  lead  captivity  captive, 
and  receive  inestimable  gifts  for  men.  Much  less 
did  they  think  that  Moses  and  Elijah  were  but  His 
servants — that  all  their  spirit  and  their  power  had 
been  given  by  Him.  But  this  also  they  were  taught 
a  moment  afterwards ;  for  a  bright  cloud  oversha- 
dowed them,  hiding  from  them  the  glory  of  God 
the  Father,  whom  no  man  hath  seen  or  can  see,  who 
dwells  in  the  light  which  no  man  can  approach  unto; 
and  out  of  that  cloud  a  voice,  saying,  "  This  is 
my  beloved  Son;  hear  ye  Him;"  and  then,  hiding 
their  faces  in  fear  and  wonder,  they  fell  to  the 
ground ;  and  when  they  looked  up,  the  vision  and 
the  voice  had  alike  passed  away,  and  they  saw  no 
man  but  Christ  alone.  Was  not  that  enough  for 
them?  Must  not  the  meaning  of  the  vision  have 
been  plain  to  them  ?     They  surely  understood  from 


XV.]  THE  TRANSFIGURATION.  177 

it  that  Moses  and  Elijah  were,  as  they  had  ever  be- 
lieved them  to  be,  great  and  good,  true  messengers 
of  the  living  God;  but  that  their  message  and  their 
work  was  done — that  Christ,  whom  they  had  looked 
for,  was  come — that  all  the  types  of  the  law  were 
realized,  and  all  the  prophecies  fulfilled,  and  that 
henceforward  Christ,  and  Christ  alone,  was  to  be 
their  Prophet  and  their  Lawgiver.  Was  not  this 
plainly  the  meaning  of  the  Divine  voice  ?  For  when 
they  wished  to  build  three  tabernacles,  and  to  honour 
Moses  and  Elijah,  the  Law  and  the  Prophets,  as  se- 
parate from  Christ,  that  moment  the  heavenly  voice 
warned  them :  "This — this  is  my  beloved  Son — hear 
ye  Him,  and  Him  only,  henceforward."  And  Moses 
and  Elijah,  their  work  being  done,  forthwith  vanished 
away,  leaving  Christ  alone  to  fulfil  the  Law  and  the 
Prophets,  and  all  other  wisdom  and  righteousness 
that  ever  was  or  shall  be.  This  is  another  lesson 
which  Christ's  transfiguration  was  meant  to  teach 
them  and  us,  that  Christ  alone  is  to  be  hencefor- 
ward our  guide ;  that  no  philosophies  or  doctrines 
of  any  sort  which  are  not  founded  on  a  true  faith  in 
Jesus  Christ,  and  His  life  and  death,  are  worth  lis- 
tening to;  that  God  has  manifested  forth  His  be- 
loved Son,  and  that  Him,  and  Him  only,  we  are  to 
hear.  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  Christ  came  into 
the  world  to  put  down  human  learning.  I  do  not  mean 
that  we  are  to  despise  human  learning,  as  so  many 
are  apt  to  do  nowadays ;  for  Christ  came  into  the 
16 


178  THE  TRANSFIGURATION.  [sERM. 

world  not  to  destroy  human  learning,  but  to  fulfil 
it — to  sanctify  it — to  make  human  learning  true, 
and  strong,  and  useful,  by  giving  it  a  sure  founda- 
tion to  stand  upon,  which  is  the  belief  and  knowledge 
of  His  blessed  self.  Just  as  Christ  came  not  to  destroy 
the  Law  and  the  Prophets,  but  to  fulfil  them — to  give 
them  a  spirit  and  a  depth  in  men's  eyes  which  they 
never  had  before — just  so  He  came  to  fulfil  all  true 
philosophies,  all  the  deep  thoughts  which  men  had 
ever  thought  about  this  wonderful  world  and  their  own 
souls,  by  giving  them  a  spirit  and  a  depth  which  they 
never  had  before.  Therefore  let  no  man  tempt  you 
to  despise  learning,  for  it  is  holy  to  the  Lord. 

There  is  one  more  lesson  which  we  may  learn  from 
our  Lord's  transfiguration:  when  St.  Peter  said, 
"Lord!  it  is  good  for  us  to  be  here,"  he  spoke  a 
truth.  It  was  good  for  him  to  be  there;  never- 
theless, Christ  did  not  listen  to  his  prayer.  He  and 
his  two  companions  were  not  allowed  to  stay  in  that 
glorious  company.  And  why?  Because  they  had  a 
work  to  do.  They  had  glad  tidings  of  great  joy  to 
proclaim  to  every  creature,  and  it  was,  after  all,  but 
a  selfish  prayer,  to  wish  to  be  allowed  to  stay  in 
ease  and  glory  on  the  mount  while  the  whole  world 
was  struggling  in  sin  and  wickedness  below  them  ; 
for  there  is  no  meaning  in  a  man's  calling  himself  a 
Christian,  or  saying  that  he  loves  God,  unless  he  is 
ready  to  hate  what  God  hates,  and  to  fight  against 
that  which  Christ  fought  against,  that  is,  sin.     No 


XV.]  THE  TRANSFIGURATION.  179 

one  has  any  right  to  call  himself  a  servant  of  God, 
who  is  not  trying  to  do  away  with  some  of  the  evil 
in  the  world  around  him.  And,  therefore,  Christ 
was  merciful  when,  instead  of  listening  to  St. 
Peter's  prayer,  He  led  the  apostles  down  again  from 
the  mount,  and  sent  them  forth,  as  He  did  after- 
wards, to  preach  the  Gospel  of  the  kingdom  to  all 
nations.  For  Christ  put  a  higher  honour  on  St. 
Peter  by  that  than  if  he  had  let  him  stay  on  the 
mount  all  his  life,  to  behold  His  glory,  and  worship 
and  adore.  And  He  made  St.  Peter  more  like  Him- 
self by  doing  so.  For  what  was  Christ's  life  ?  Not 
one  of  deep  speculations,  quiet  thoughts,  and  bright 
visions,  such  as  St.  Peter  wished  to  lead,  but  a  life 
of  fighting  against  evil;  earnest,  awful  prayers  and 
struggles  within,  continual  labour  of  body  and  mind 
without,  insult  and  danger,  and  confusion,  and  vio- 
lent exertion,  and  bitter  sorrow.  This  was  Christ's 
life — this  is  the  life  of  almost  every  good  man  I 
ever  heard  of; — this  was  St.  Peter,  and  St.  James, 
and  St.  John's  life  afterwards.  This  was  Christ's 
cup,  which  they  were  to  drink  of  as  well  as  He ; — 
this  was  the  baptism  of  fire  with  which  they  were 
to  be  baptized  of  as  well  as  He; — this  was  to  be 
their  fight  of  faith ;  —  this  was  the  tribulation 
through  which  they,  like  all  other  great  saints, 
were  to  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven ;  for  it 
is  certain  that  the  harder  a  man  fights  against  evil, 
the  harder  evil  will  fight  against  him  in  return: 


180  THE  TRANSFIGURATION.         [SERM.  XV. 

but  it  is  certain,  too,  that  the  harder  a  man  fights 
against  evil,  the  more  he  is  like  his  Saviour  Christ, 
and  the  more  glorious  will  be  his  reward  in  heaven. 
It  is  certain,  too,  that  what  was  good  for  St.  Peter  is 
good  for  us.  It  is  good  for  a  man  to  have  holy  and 
quiet  thoughts,  and  at  moments  to  see  into  the  very 
deepest  meaning  of  God's  word  and  God's  earth, 
and  to  have,  as  it  were,  heaven  opened  before  his 
eyes;  and  it  is  good  for  a  man  sometimes  actually 
to  feel  his  heart  overpowered  with  the  glorious 
majesty  of  God,  and  to  feel  it  gushing  out  with  love 
to  his  blessed  Saviour;  but  it  is  not  good  for  him  to 
stop  there,  any  more  than  it  was  for  the  apostles ; 
they  had  to  leave  that  glorious  vision  and  come 
down  from  the  mount,  and  do  Christ's  work;  and 
so  have  we;  for,  believe  me,  one  word  of  warning 
spoken  to  keep  a  little  child  out  of  sin, — one  crust 
of  bread  given  to  a  beggar-man,  because  he  is  your 
brother,  for  whom  Christ  died, — one  angry  word 
checked,  when  it  is  on  your  lips,  for  the  sake  of 
Him  who  was  meek  and  lowly  in  heart;  in  short, 
any,  the  smallest,  endeavour  of  this  kind  to  lessen 
the  quantity  of  evil  which  is  in  yourselves,  and  in 
those  around  you,  is  worth  all  the  speculations,  and 
raptures,  and  visions,  and  frames,  and  feelings  in 
the  world;  for  those  are  the  good  fruits  of  faith, 
whereby  alone  the  tree  shall  be  known,  whether  it 
be  good  or  evil. 


SERMON    XVI. 


THE    CRUCIFIXION. 

"  He  is  brought  as  a  larab  to  the  slaughter." — Isaiah,  liii.  7. 

On  this  day,  my  friends,  was  offered  up  upon  the 
cross  the  Lamb  of  God, — slain  in  eternity  and 
heaven  before  the  foundation  of  the  world,  but 
slain  in  time  and  space  upon  this  day.  All  the  old 
sacrifices,  the  lambs  which  were  daily  offered  up  to 
God  in  the  Jewish  Temple,  the  lambs  which  Abel, 
and  after  him  the  patriarchs  offered  up,  the  Paschal 
Lamb  slain  at  the  Passover,  our  Eastertide,  all  these 
were  but  figures  of  Christ — tokens  of  the  awful  and 
yet  loving  law  of  God,  that  without  shedding  of 
blood  there  is  no  remission  of  sin.  But  the  blood 
of  dumb  animals  could  not  take  away  sin.  All 
mankind  had  sinned,  and  it  was,  therefore,  neces- 
sary that  all  mankind  should  suffer.  Therefore  He 
suffered,  the  new  Adam,  the  Man  of  all  men,  in 
whom  all  mankind  were,  as  it  were,  collected  into 
one,  and  put  on  a  new  footing  with  God ;  that  hence- 
forward to  be  a  man  might  mean  to  be  a  holy  being, 
a  forgiven  being,  a  being  joined  to  God,  wearing  the 
likeness  of  the  Son  of  God — the  human  soul  and 
16* 


182  THE  CRUCIFIXION.  [SERM. 

body  in  which  lie  offered  up  all  human  souls  and 
bodies  on  the  cross.  For  man  was  originally  made 
in  Christ's  likeness ;  He  was  the  Word  of  God  who 
walked  in  the  garden  of  Eden,  who  spoke  to  Adam 
with  a  human  voice;  He  was  the  Lord  who  ap- 
peared to  the  patriarchs  in  a  man's  figure,  and  ate 
and  drank  in  Abraham's  tent,  and  spoke  to  him  with 
a  human  voice;  He  was  the  God  of  Israel,  whom 
the  Jewish  elders  saw  with  their  bodily  eyes  upon 
Mount  Sinai,  and  under  his  feet  a  pavement  as  of  a 
sapphire  stone.  From  Him  all  man's  powers  came ; 
man's  speech,  man's  understanding.  All  that  is 
truly  noble  in  man  was  a  dim  pattern  of  Him  in 
whose  likeness  man  was  originally  made.  And  when 
man  had  fallen  and  sinned,  and  Christ's  image  was 
fading  more  and  more  out  of  him,  and  the  likeness 
of  the  brutes  growing  more  and  more  in  him  year 
by  year,  then  came  Christ,  the  head  and  the  original 
pattern  of  all  men,  to  claim  them  for  His  own  again, 
to  do  in  their  name  what  they  could  never  do  for 
themselves,  to  offer  Himself  up  a  sacrifice  for  the 
sins  of  the  whole  world:  so  that  He  is  the  real  sa- 
crifice, the  real  lamb ;  as  St.  John  said,  when  he 
pointed  Him  out  to  his  disciples,  "Behold  the  Lamb 
of  God,  which  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world!" 

Oh,  think  of  that  strong  and  patient  Lamb,  who 
on  this  day  showed  Himself  perfect  in  fortitude  and 
nobleness,  perfect  in  meekness  and  resignation. 
Think  of  Him  who,  in  His  utter  love  to  us,  endured 


XVI.]  THE  CRUCIFIXION.  183 

the  cross,  despising  the  shame.  And  what  a  cross ! 
Truly  said  the  prophet,  "His  visage  was  more 
marred  than  any  man,  and  His  form  more  than  the 
sons  of  men:"  in  hunger  and  thirst,  in  tears  and 
sighs,  bruised  and  bleeding,  His  forehead  crowned 
with  thorns,  His  sides  torn  with  scourges,  His  hands 
and  feet  gored  with  nails,  His  limbs  stretched  from 
their  sockets,  naked  upon  the  shameful  cross,  the 
Son  of  God  hung,  lingering  slowly  towards  the  last 
gasp,  in  the  death  of  the  felon  and  the  slave!  The 
most  shameful  sight  that  this  earth  ever  saw,  and 
yet  the  most  glorious  sight.  The  most  shameful 
sight,  at  which  the  sun  in  heaven  veiled  his  face,  as 
if  ashamed,  and  the  skies  grew  black,  as  if  to  hide 
those  bleeding  limbs  from  the  foul  eyes  of  men; 
and  yet  the  noblest  sight,  for  in  that  death  upon 
the  cross  shone  out  the  utter  fulness  of  all  holi- 
ness, the  utter  fulness  of  all  fortitude,  the  utter 
fulness  of  that  self-sacrificing  love  which  had  said, 
"  The  Son  of  man  came  to  seek  and  to  save  that 
which  was  lost;"  the  utter  fulness  of  obedient  pa- 
tience, which  could  say,  "  Father,  not  My  will  but 
Thine  be  done;"  the  utter  fulness  of  generous  for- 
giveness, which  could  pray,  "Father,  forgive  them, 
for  they  know  not  what  they  do;"  the  utter  ful- 
ness of  noble  fortitude  and  endurance,  which  could 
say,  at  the  very  moment  when  a  fearful  death  stared 
Him  in  the  face,  "Thinkest  thou  that  I  cannot  now 
pray  to  my  Father,  and  He  will  send  me  at  once 


184  THE  CRUCIFIXION.  [SERM. 

more  than  twelve  legions  of  angels  ?  But  how  then 
would  the  scriptures  be  fulfilled  that  thus  it  must  be  ?" 
Oh,  my  friends,  look  to  Him,  the  author  and 
perfecter  of  all  faith,  all  trust,  all  loyal  daring,  for 
the  sake  of  duty  and  of  God.  Look  at  His  patience. 
See  how  He  endured  the  cross,  despising  the  shame. 
See  how  He  endured — how  patience  had  her  per- 
fect work  in  Him — how  in  all  things  He  was  more 
than  conqueror.  What  gentleness,  what  calmness, 
what  silence,  what  infinite  depths  of  Divine  love 
within  Him ! — a  heart  which  neither  shame,  nor 
torture,  nor  insult,  could  stir  from  its  godlike  re- 
solution. When  looking  down  from  that  cross  He 
beheld  none  almost  but  enemies,  heard  no  word  but 
mockery.  When  those  who  passed  by  reviled  Him, 
wagging  their  heads,  and  saying,  "  He  saved  others, 
Himself  he  cannot  save,"  His  only  answer  was  a 
prayer  for  forgiveness  for  that  besottedmob  who 
were  yelling  beneath  Him  like  hounds  about  their 
game.  Consider  Him,  and  then  consider  ourselves, 
ruffled  and  put  out  of  temper  by  the  slightest  cross 
accident,  the  slightest  harsh  word,  too  often  by  the 
slightest  pain — not  to  mention  insults,  for  we  pride 
ourselves  in  not  bearing  them.  Try,  my  friends,  if 
you  can,  even  in  the  dimmest  way,  fancy  yourselves 
for  one  instant  in  His  place  this  day  1815  years. 
Fancy  yourselves  hanging  on  that  cross  —  fancy 
that  mocking  mob  below — fancy — but  I  dare  not 
go  on  with  the  picture.      Only  think — think  what 


XVI.]  THE  CRUCIFIXION.  185 

would  have  been  your  temper  there,  and  then  you 
may  get  some  slight  notion  of  the  boundless  love 
and  the  boundless  endurance  of  the  Saviour  whom 
we  love  so  little,  for  whose  sake  most  of  us  will  not 
endure  the  trouble  of  giving  up  a  single  sin. 

And  then  consider  that  it  was  all  of  his  own  free 
will;  that  at  any  moment,  even  while  He  was  hang- 
ing upon  the  cross,  He  might  have  called  to  earth 
and  sun,  to  heaven  and  to  hell,  "Stop!  thus  far, 
but  no  farther,"  and  they  would  have  obeyed  Him  ; 
and  all  that  cross,  and  agony,  and  the  fierce  faces 
of  those  furious  Jews,  would  have  vanished  away 
like  a  hideous  dream  when  one  awakes.  For  they 
lied  in  their  mockery.  Any  moment  He  might 
have  been  free,  triumphant,  again  in  his  eternal 
bliss,  but  He  would  not.  He  Himself  kept  Himself 
on  that  cross  till  His  Father's  will  was  fulfilled, 
and  the  sacrifice  was  finished,  and  we  were  saved. 
And  then,  at  last,  when  there  was  no  more  human 
nobleness,  no  more  agony  left  for  him  to  fulfil,  no 
gem  in  the  crown  of  holiness  which  He  had  not 
won  as  his  own,  no  drop  in  the  cup  of  misery  which 
He  had  not  drained  as  His  own ;  when  at  last  He 
was  made  perfect  through  suffering,  and  His 
strength  had  been  made  perfect  in  weakness,  then 
He  bowed  that  bleeding,  thorn-crowned  head,  and 
said,  "It  is  finished.  Father,  into  Thy  hands  I 
commend  my  spirit."     And  so  He  died. 

How  can  our  poor  words,  our  poor  deeds,  thank 


186  THE  CRUCIFIXION.  [sERM. 

Him?  How  mean  and  paltry  our  deepest  gratitude, 
our  highest  loyalty,  when  compared  with  Him  to 
whom  it  is  due — that  adorable  victim,  that  perfect 
sin-offering,  who  this  day  offered  up  Himself  upon 
the  altar  of  the  cross,  in  the  fire  of  his  own  bound- 
less zeal  for  the  kingdom  of  God,  His  Father,  and 
of  His  boundless  love  for  us,  His  sinful  brothers! 
"  Oh !  thou  blessed  Jesus !  Saviour  agonizing  for 
us !  God  Almighty,  who  did  make  Thyself  weak 
for  the  love  of  us !  oh,  write  that  love  upon  our 
hearts  so  deeply,  that  neither  pleasure  nor  sorrow, 
life  nor  death,  may  wipe  it  away!  Thou  hast 
sacrificed  Thyself  for  us,  oh,  give  us  tHe  hearts  to 
sacrifice  ourselves  for  Thee!  Thou  art  the  Vine, 
we  are  the  branches.  Let  thy  priceless  blood,  shed 
for  us  on  this  day,  flow  like  life-giving  sap  through 
all  our  hearts  and  minds,  and  fill  us  with  thy  righ- 
teousness, that  we  may  be  sacrifices  fit  for  Thee. 
Stir  us  up  to  offer  to  Thee,  0  Lord,  our  bodies, 
our  souls,  our  spirits,  in  all  we  love  and  all  we  learn, 
in  all  we  plan  and  all  we  do,  to  offer  our  labours, 
our  pleasures,  our  sorrows,  to  Thee;  to  work  for 
Thy  kingdom  through  them,  to  live  as  those  who  are 
not  their  own,  but  bought  with  Thy  blood,  fed  with 
Thy  body;  and  enable  us  now,  in  Thy  most  holy 
Sacrament,  to  offer  to  Thee  our  repentance,  our 
faith,  our  prayers,  our  praises,  living,  reasonable, 
and  spiritual  sacrifices, — Thine  from  our  birth- 
hour,  Thine  now,  and  Thine  for  ever!" 


SERMON  XVII. 


THE  RESURRECTION. 

"He  is  not  here — He  is  risen." — Luke,  xxiv.  6. 

We  are  assembled  here  to-clay,  my  friends,  to 
celebrate  the  joyful  memory  of  our  blessed  Sa- 
viour's Resurrection.  All  Friday  night,  Saturday, 
and  Saturday  night,  His  body  lay  in  the  grave ;  His 
soul  was — where,  we  cannot  tell.  St.  Peter  tells  us 
that  He  went  and  preached  to  the  spirits  in  prison — 
the  sinners  of  the  old  world,  who  are  kept  in  the 
place  of  departed  souls — most  likely  in  the  depths 
of  the  earth,  in  the  great  fire-kingdom,  which  boils 
and  flames  miles  below  our  feet,  and  breaks  out  here 
and  there  through  the  earth's  solid  crust  in  burning 
mountains  and  streams  of  fire.  There,  some  say — 
and  the  Bible  seems  to  say — sinful  souls  are  kept  in 
chains  until  the  judgment-day ;  and  thither  they  say 
Christ  went  to  preach — no  doubt  to  save  some  of 
those  sinful  souls  who  had  never  heard  of  Him. 
However  this  may  be,  for  those  two  nights  and  day 
there  was  no  sign,  no  stir  in  the  grave  where  Christ 
was  laid.     His  body  seemed  dead — the  stone  lay 


188  THE  RESURRECTION.  [SERM. 

still  over  the  mouth  of  the  tomb  where  Joseph  and 
Nicodemus  laid  him;  the  seal  which  Pilate  had 
put  on  it  was  unbroken;  the  soldiers  watched  and 
watched,  but  no  one  stirred;  the  priests  and  Phari- 
sees were  keeping  their  sham  Passover,  thinking,  no 
doubt,  that  they  were  well  rid  of  Christ  and  of  His 
rebukes  for  ever. 

But  early  on  the  Sunday  morn — this  day,  as  it 
might  be — in  the  gray  dawn  of  morning  there  came 
a  change — a  wondrous  change.  There  was  a  great 
earthquake;  the  solid  ground  and  rocks  were  stirred 
— the  angel  of  the  Lord  came  down  from  heaven, 
and  rolled  back  the  stone  from  the  door,  and  sat 
upon  it,  waiting  for  the  King  of  glory  to  arise 
from  His  slumber,  and  go  forth  the  conqueror  of 
Death. 

His  countenance  was  like  lightning,  and  His  rai- 
ment white  as  snow;  and  for  fear  of  Him  those  fierce, 
hard  soldiers,  who  feared  neither  God  nor  man, 
shook,  and  became  as  dead  men.  And  Christ  arose 
and  went  forth.  How  he  rose — how  he  looked 
when  he  arose,  no  man  can  tell,  for  no  man  saw. 
Only  before  the  sun  was  risen  came  Mary  Magda- 
lene, and  the  other  Mary,  and  found  the  stone  rolled 
away,  and  saw  the  angels  sitting,  clothed  in  white, 
who  said,  "Fear  not,  for  I  know  that  ye  seek  Jesus, 
who  was  crucified.  He  is  not  here,  for  He  is  risen. 
Come,  see  the  place  where  the  Lord  lay." 

What  must  they  have   thought,   poor,   faithful 


XVII.]  THE  RESURRECTION.  189 

souls,  who  came,  lonely  and  broken-hearted,  to  see 
the  place  where  lie,  their  only  hope,  was,  as  they 
thought,  shut  up  and  lost  for  ever,  to  hear  that  He 
was  risen  and  gone?  Half  terrified,  half  delighted, 
they  went  back  with  other  women  who  had  come  on 
the  same  errand,  with  spices  to  anoint  the  blessed 
body,  and  told  the  apostles.  Peter  and  John  ran  to 
the  sepulchre,  and  saw  the  linen  clothes,  and  the 
napkin  that  was  about  his  blessed  head,  wrapped 
together  by  itself.  They  then  believed.  Then  first 
broke  on  them  the  meaning  of  His  old  saying,  that 
He  must  rise  from  the  dead;  and  so,  wondering  and 
doubting  what  to  do,  they  went  back  home. 

But  Mary — faithful,  humble  Mary — stood  with- 
out, by  the  sepulchre,  weeping.  The  angels  called 
to  her,  "Woman,  why  weepest  thou?"  "They 
have  taken  away  my  Lord,"  said  she;  "and  I  know 
not  where  they  have  laid  him." 

Then,  in  a  moment,  out  of  the  air,  He  appeared 
behind  her.  His  body  had  been  changed ;  it  was 
now  a  glorified,  spiritual  body,  which  could  appear 
and  disappear  when  and  how  he  liked.  She  turned 
back,  and  saw  Him  standing,  but  she  knew  Him  not. 
A  wTondrous  change  had  come  over  Him  since  last 
she  saw  Him  hanging,  bleeding,  pale,  and  dying,  on 
the  cross  of  shame.  "Woman,"  said  He,  "why 
weepest  thou  ?  "  She,  fancying  it  was  the  gardener, 
said  to  Him,  "Sir,  if  thou  hast  borne  Him  hence, 
tell  me  where  thou  hast  laid  Him,  and  I  will 
17 


190  THE  RESURRECTION.  [SERM. 

take  Him  away."  Jesus  said  to  her,  "Mary."  At 
the  sound  of  that  beloved  voice — His  own  voice — 
calling  her  by  name,  her  recollection  came  back  to 
her.  She  knew  Him — knew  Him  for  her  risen 
Lord;  and,  falling  at  His  feet,  cried  out,  "My 
Master ! " 

So  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  rose  from  the 
dead! 

Now  come  the  questions,  Why  did  Christ  rise 
from  the  dead? — and  hoiv  did  he  rise?  And,  first,  I 
will  say  a  few  words  about  how  he  rose  from  the 
dead.  And  this  the  Bible  will  answer  for  us,  as  it 
will  every  thing  else  about  the  spirit-world.  Christ, 
says  the  Bible,  was  put  to  death  in  the  flesh ;  but 
quickened,  that  is,  brought  to  life,  by  the  Spirit. 
Now  what  is  the  Spirit  but  the  Lord  and  Giver  of 
Life, — life  of  all  sorts — life  to  the  soul — life  to  the 
body — life  to  the  trees  and  plants  around  us  ?  With 
that  Spirit  Christ  is  filled  infinitely  without  measure; 
it  is  His  Spirit.  He  is  the  Prince  of  Life ;  and  the 
Spirit  which  gives  life  is  His  Spirit,  proceeding  from 
the  Father  and  the  Son.  Therefore  the  gates  of 
hell  could  not  prevail  against  Him — therefore  the 
heavy  grave-stone  could  not  hold  Him  down — there- 
fore His  flesh  could  not  see  corruption  and  decay  as 
other  bodies  do;  not  because  His  body  was  different 
from  other  bodies  in  its  substance,  but  because  He 
was  filled,  body  and  soul,  with  the  great  Spirit  of 
Life.    For  this  is  the  great  business  of  the  Spirit  of 


XVII.]  THE  RESURRECTION.  191 

God,  in  all  nature,  to  bring  life  out  of  death— new 
generations  out  of  old.     What  says  David?    "When 
Thou,  0  God,  turnest  away  Thy  face,  things  die  and 
return  again  to  the  dust ;  when  Thou  lettest  Thy 
breath  (which  is  the  same  as  Thy  Spirit)  go  forth, 
they  are  made,  and  Thou  renewest  the  face  of  the 
earth."     This  is  the  way  that  seeds,  instead  of  rot- 
ting and  perishing,  spring  up  and  become  new  plants 
—God  breathes  His  Spirit  on  them.    The  seeds  must 
have  heat,  and  damp,  and  darkness,  and  electricity, 
before  they  can  sprout ;  but  the  heat,  and  damp,  and 
darkness,  do  not  make  them    sprout;    they  want 
something  more  to  do  that.     A  philosopher  can  find 
out  exactly  what  a  seed  is  made  of,  and  he  might 
make  a  seed  of  the  proper  materials,  and  put  it  in  the 
ground,  and  electrify  it — but  would  it  grow  ?     Not 
it.     To  grow  it  must  have  life— life  from  the  Foun- 
tain of  life— from  God's  Spirit.   All  the  philosophers 
in  the  world  have  never  yet  been  able,  among  all  the 
things  which  they  have  made,  to  make  a  single  living 
thing — and  say  they  never  shall;  because,  put  toge- 
ther all  they  will,  still  one  thing  is  wanting — life, 
which  God  alone  can  give.    Why  do  I  say  this  ?    To 
show  you  what  God's  Spirit  is;  to  put  you  in  mind 
that  it  is  near  you,  above  you,  and  beneath  you, 
about  your  path  in  your  daily  walk.     And  also,  to 
explain  to  you  how  Christ  rose  by  the  Spirit,— how 
your  bodies,  if  you  claim  your  share  in  Christ's 
Spirit,  may  rise  by  it  too. 


192  THE  RESURRECTION.  [SERM. 

You  can  see  now  how  Christ,  being  filled  with 
God's  Spirit,  rose  of  himself.  People  had  risen 
from  the  dead  before  Christ's  time,  but  they  had 
been  either  raised  in  answer  to  the  prayers  of  holy 
men,  who  had  God's  Spirit,  or  at  some  peculiar  time 
when  heaven  was  opened,  and  God  chose  to  alter 
His  laws  (as  we  call  it)  for  a  moment. 

But  here  was  a  Man  who  rose  of  Himself.  He 
was  raised  by  God,  and  therefore  He  raised  Him- 
self, for  He  was  God. 

You  all  know  what  life  and  power  a  man's  own 
spirit  will  often  give  him.  You  may  have  heard  of 
"spirited"  men  in  great  danger,  or  "spirited"  sol- 
diers in  battle,  when,  faint,  wounded,  having  suf- 
fered enough,  apparently,  to  kill  them  twice  over, 
still  struggling  or  fighting  on,  and  doing  the  most 
desperate  deeds  to  the  last,  from  the  strength  and 
courage  of  their  spirits  conquering  pain  and  weak- 
ness, and  keeping  off  for  a  time  death  itself.  We 
all  know  how  madmen,  diseased  iri  their  spirits,  will, 
when  the  fit  is  on  them,  have  for  a  few  minutes  ten 
men's  strength.  Well,  just  think,  if  a  man's  own 
spirit,  when  it  is  powerful,  can  give  his  body  such 
life  and  force,  what  must  it  have  been  with  Christ, 
who  was  filled  full  of  the  Spirit — God's  Spirit,  the 
Lord  and  Giver  of  life.  The  Lord  could  not  help 
rising.  All  the  disease,  and  poison,  and  rottenness  in 
the  world  could  not  have  made  His  body  decay;  moun- 
tains on  mountains  could  not  have  kept  it  down.    His 


XVII.]  THE  RESURRECTION.  193 

body! — the  Prince  of  Life! — He  that  was  the  life 
itself!    It  was  impossible  that  death  could  hold  Him. 

And  does  not  this  show  us  why  He  rose,  that  we 
might  rise  with  Him?  What  did  He  say  about  His 
own  death?  "  Except  a  corn  of  wheat  fall  into  the 
ground  and  die,  it  abideth  alone,  but  if  it  die  it 
bringeth  forth  much  fruit."  He  was  the  grain 
which  fell  into  the  ground  and  died,  and  from  His 
dead  body  sprung  up  another  body — His  glorified 
body;  and  we,  His  Church,  His  people,  fed  with 
that  body — His  members,  however  strange  it  may 
sound — St.  Paul  said  it,  and  therefore  I  dare  to 
say  it,  little  as  I  know  what  it  means — members  of 
His  flesh  and  of  His  bones. 

But  think  !  Remember  what  St.  Paul  tells  you 
about  this  very  matter  in  that  glorious  chapter  which 
is  read  in  the  burial-service,  "how  when  thou  sowest 
seed,  thou  sowest  not  that  body  which  it  will  have, 
but  bare  grain;  bat  God  gives  it  a  body  as  it  hath 
pleased  Him,  and  to  every  seed  its  own  body."  For 
the  wheat-plant  is  in  reality  the  same  thing  as  the 
wheat-seed,  and  its  life  the  same  life,  different  as 
the  outside  of  it  may  look.  Dig  it  up  just  at  this 
time  of  year,  and  you  will  find  the  seed-corn  all 
gone,  sucked  dry;  the  life  of  the  wheat-seed  has 
formed  it  into  a  wheat-plant — yet  it  is  the  same  in- 
dividual thing.  The  substance  of  the  seed  has  gone 
into  the  root  and  the  young  blade;  but  it  is  the 
same  individual  substance.     You  know  it  is,  and 


194  THE   RESURRECTION.  [SERM. 

though  you  cannot  tell  why,  yet  you  say,  "What  a  fine 
plant  that  seed  has  grown  into! "  because  you  feel  it 
is  so,  that  the  seed  is  the  very  same  thing  as  the 
plant  which  springs  up  from  it,  though  its  shape  is 
changed,  and  its  size,  and  its  colour,  and  the  very 
stuff  of  which  it  was  made  is  changed,  since  it  was 
a  mere  seed.  And  yet  it  is  at  bottom  the  same 
individual  thing  as  the  seed  was,  with  a  new  body 
and  shape. 

So  with  Christ's  body.  It  was  changed  after  He 
rose.  It  had  gone  through  pain,  and  weakness,  and 
death,  gone  clown  to  the  lowest  depth  of  them,  and 
conquered  them,  and  passed  triumphant  through 
them  and  far  beyond  their  power.  His  body  was 
now  a  nobler,  a  more  beautiful,  a  glorified  body,  a 
spiritual  body;  one  which  could  do  wdiatever  His 
Spirit  chose  to  make  it  do;  one  which  could  never 
die  again;  one  which  could  come  through  closed 
doors,  appear  and  vanish  as  He  liked,  instead  of 
being  bound  to  walk  the  earth,  and  stand  cold  and 
heat,  sickness  and  weariness. 

Yet  it  was  the  very  same  body,  just  as  the 
wheat-plant  is  the  same  as  the  wheat-seed — the 
very  same  body.  Every  one  knew  His  face  again 
after  His  resurrection.  There  was  the  very  print  of 
the  nails  to  be  seen  in  His  hands  and  feet,  the  spear- 
wound  in  His  blessed  side.  So  shall  it  be  with  us, 
my  friends.  We  shall  rise  again,  and  we  shall  be 
the  same  as  we  are  now,  and  yet  not  the  same;  our 


XVir.]  THE  RESURRECTION.  195 

bodies  shall  be  the  same  bodies,  and  yet  nobler, 
purer  spiritual  bodies,  which  can  know  neither  death, 
nor  pain,  nor  weariness.  Then,  never  care,  my 
friends,  if  we  drop  like  ripe  grain  into  the  bosom 
of  mother  earth, — if  we  are  to  spring  up  again  as 
seedling  plants,  after  death's  long  winter,  on  the 
resurrection  morn.     Truly  says  the  poet,*  how 

"Mother  earth,  she  gathers  all 
Into  her  bosom,  great  and  small: 
Oh !  could  we  look  into  her  face, 
We  should  not  shrink  from  her  embrace." 

No,  indeed !  for  if  we  look  steadily  with  the  wise, 
searching  eye  of  faith  into  the  face  of  mother  earth, 
we  shall  see  how  death  is  but  the  gate  of  life,  and 
this  narrow  churchyard,  with  its  corpses  close- 
packed  underneath  the  sod,  would  not  seem  to  us  a 
frightful  charnel-house  of  corruption.  No!  it  would 
seem  like  what  it  is — a  blessed,  quiet,  seed-filled 
God's  garden,  in  which  our  forefathers,  after  their 
long-life  labour,  lay  sown  by  God's  friendly  hand, 
waiting  peaceful,  one  and  all,  to  spring  up  into  leaf, 
and  flower,  and  everlasting  paradise-fruit,  beneath 
the  breath  of  God's  Spirit  at  the  last  great  day, 
when  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  arises  in  glory,  and 
the  summer  begins  which  shall  never  end.    . 

One  and  all,  did  I  say  ?  Alas  !  would  God  it  were 
so !    We  cannot  hope  as  for  all;  but  they  are  dead 

*  Von  Stolberg. 


196  THE  RESURRECTION.  [sERM. 

and  gone,  and  we  are  not  here  to  judge  the  dead. 
They  have  another  Judge,  and  all  shall  be  as  He 
■wills. 

But  we — we  in  whose  limbs  the  breath  of  life  still 
boils — we  who  can  still  work,  let  us  never  forget  all 
grain  ripens  not.  There  is  some  falls  out  of  the  ear 
unripe,  and  perishes;  some  is  picked  out  by  birds; 
some  withers  and  decays  in  the  ear,  and  yet  gets 
into  the  barn  with  it,  and  is  sown,  too,  with  the 
wheat,  of  which  I  never  heard  that  any  sprang  up 
again — ploughed  up  again  it  may  be — a  withered, 
dead  husk  of  chair  as  it  died,  ploughed  up  to  the 
resurrection  of  damnation,  to  burn  as  chaff  in  un- 
quenchable fire;  but  the  good  seed  alone,  ripe,  and 
safe  with  the  wheat-plant  till  it  is  ripe,  that  only 
will  sp?'ing  up  to  the  resurrection  of  eternal  life. 

Now,  consider  again  that  parable  of  the  wheat- 
plant.  After  it  has  sprung  up,  what  does  it  next, 
but  tiller? — and  every  new  shoot  that  tillers  out, 
bears  its  own  ear,  ripens  its  own  grain,  twenty, 
thirty,  or  forty  stems,  and  yet  they  are  all  the  same 
plant,  living  with  the  life  of  that  one  original  seed. 
So  with  Christ's  Church — His  body  the  Church. 
As  soon  as  He  rose,  that  new  Plant  began  to  tiller. 
He  did  not  keep  His  Spirit  to  Himself,  but  poured 
it  out  on  the  apostles,  and  from  them  it  spread  and 
spread — each  generation  of  Christians  ripening,  and 
bearing  fruit,  and  dying,  a  fresh  generation  of  fruit 
springing  up  from  them,  and  so  on,  as  we  are  now 


XVII.]  THE  EESURKECTIOX.  197 

at  this  day.  And  yet  all  these  plants,  these  millions 
and  millions  of  Christian  men  and  women,  who  have 
lived  since  Christ's  blessed  resurrection,  all  are 
parts  of  that  one  original  seed,  the  body  of  Christ, 
whose  members  they  are,  and  all  owe  their  life  to 
that  one  Spirit  of  Christ,  which  is  in  them  all  and 
through  them  all,  as  the  life  of  the  original  grain 
is  in  the  whole  crop  which  springs  from  it. 

And  what  can  you  learn  from  this  ?  Learn  this, 
that  in  Christ  you  are  safe,  out  of  Christ  you  are 
lost.  But  really  in  Christ,  I  mean— not  like  the 
dead  and  dying  grains,  mildewed  and  worm-eaten, 
which  you  find  here  and  there  on  the  finest  wheat- 
plant.  Their  end  is  to  be  burned,  and  so  will  ours 
be,  for  all  our  springing  out  of  Christ's  root,  if  the 
angel  reapers  find  us  not  good  wheat,  but  chaff 
and  mildew.  Every  branch  in  Christ  which  beareth 
not  fruit,  His  heavenly  Father  taketh  away.  There- 
fore, never  pride  yourself  on  having  been  baptized 
into  Christ,  never  pride  yourself  on  showing  some 
signs  of  God's  Spirit,  on  being  really  good,  right 
in  this  and  right  in  that, — the  question  is,  not  so 
much,  Are  you  in  Christ  at  all,  are  you  part  of  His 
tree,  a  member  of  His  body?  but,  Are  you  ripening 
there  ?  If  you  are  not  ripening,  you  are  decaying, 
and  your  end  will  be  as  God  has  said.  And  do  you 
wish  to  know  whether  you  are  in  Christ,  safe,  ripen- 
ing ?  see  whether  you  are  like  Him.  If  the  young 
grain  does  not  show  like  the  seed  grain,  you  may  be 


198  THE  RESURRECTION.        [SERM.  XVII. 

sure  it  is  making  no  progress;  and  as  surely  as  a 
wheat-plant  never  brought  forth  rye,  or  a  grape- 
tree  thistles,  so  surely,  if  you  are  not  like  Christ  in 
your  character,  in  patience,  in  meekness,  in  courage, 
truth,  purity,  piety,  and  love,  you  may  be  of  His 
planting,  but  you  are  none  of  His  ripening,  and 
you  will  not  be  raised  with  Him  at  the  last  day,  to 
flower  anew  in  the  gardens  of  Paradise,  world  with- 
out end. 


SERMON   XVIII. 


IMPROVEMENT. 

"The  righteous  shall  flourish  like  the  palm-tree:  he  shall  grow 
like  the  cedar  iu  Lebanon.  Those  that  be  planted  in  the 
house  of  the  Lord  shall  flourish  in  the  courts  of  our  God. 
They  shall  still  bring  forth  fruit  in  old  age ;  they  shall  be 
fat  and  flourishing.*' — Psalm  xcii.  12. 

The  Bible  is  always  telling  Christian  people  to 
go  forwards — to  grow — to  become  wiser  and 
stronger,  better  and  better  day  by  day;  that  they 
ought  to  become  better,  and  better,  because  they  can, 
if  they  choose,  improve.  This  text  tells  us  so ;  it  says 
that  we  shall  bring  forth  more  fruit  in  our  old  age. 
Another  text  tells  us  that  "  those  who  wait  on  the 
Lord  shall  renew  their  strength;"  another  tells  us 
that  we  " shall  go  from  strength  to  strength."  Not 
one  of  St.  Paul's  Epistles  but  talks  of  growing  in 
grace  and  in  the  knowledge  of  God,  of  being  filled 
with  God's  Spirit,  of  having  our  eyes  more  and  more 
open  to  understand  God's  truth.  Not  one  of  St. 
Paul's  Epistles  but  contains  prayers  of  St.  Paul 


200  IMPKOVEMENT.  [SERM. 

that  the  men  to  •whom  he  writes  may  become  holier 
and  wiser.  And  St.  Paul  says  that  he  himself 
needed  to  go  forward  —  that  he  wanted  fresh 
strength — that  he  had  to  forget  what  was  past, 
and  consider  all  he  had  done  and  felt  as  nothing, 
and  press  forward  to  the  prize  of  his  high  calling; 
that  he  needed  to  be  daily  conquering  himself  more 
and  more,  keeping  down  his  bad  feelings,  hunting 
out  one  bad  habit  after  another,  lest,  by  any  means, 
when  he  had  preached  to  others,  he  himself  should 
become  a  castaway.  Therefore,  I  said  rightly,  that 
the  Bible  is  always  bidding  us  go  forwards.  You 
cannot  read  your  Bibles  without  seeing  this.  What 
else  was  the  use  of  St.  Paul's  Epistles  ?  They  were 
written  to  Christian  men,  redeemed  men,  converted 
men,  most  of  them  better  I  fear  than  ever  we  shall 
be;  and  for  what?  to  tell  them  not  be  content  to 
remain  as  they  were,  to  tell  them  to  go  forwards, 
to  improve,  to  be  sure  that  they  were  only  just 
inside  the  gate  of  God's  kingdom,  and  that  if  they 
would  go  on  to  perfection,  they  would  find  strength, 
and  holiness,  and  blessing,  and  honour,  and  happi- 
ness, which  they  as  yet  did  not  dream  of.  "Be  ye 
perfect,  even  as  your  Father  which  is  in  heaven  is 
perfect,"  said  our  blessed  Lord  to  all  men.  "Be  ye 
perfect,"  says  St.  Paul  to  the  Corinthians,  and  the 
Ephesians,  and  all  to  whom  he  wrote ;  and  so  say  I 
to  you  now  in  God's  name,  for  Christ's  sake,  as 


XVIII.]  IMPROVEMENT.  201 

citizens  of  God's  kingdom,  as  heirs  of  everlasting 
glory,  "  Be  you  perfect,  even  as  your  Father  in 
heaven  is  perfect." 

Now  I  ask  you,  my  friends,  is  not  this  reasonable  ? 
It  is  reasonable,  for  the  Bible  always  speaks  of  our 
souls  as  living  things.  It  compares  them  to  limbs 
of  a  body,  to  branches  of  a  tree,  often  to  separate 
plants,  as  in  our  Lord's  parable  of  the  tares  and 
the  wheat.  Again,  St.  Paul  tells  us  that  we  have 
been  planted  in  baptism  in  the  likeness  of  Christ's 
death;  and,  again,  in  the  first  Psalm,  which  says 
that  the  good  man  shall  be  like  a  tree  planted  by  the 
water-side;  and,  again,  in  the  text  of  my  sermon, 
which  says  that  "those  who  are  planted  in  the 
house  of  the  Lord  shall  flourish  in  the  courts  of  our 
God.  They  shall  still  bring  forth  fruit  in  old  age; 
they  shall  be  fat  and  flourishing." 

Now  what  dols  all  this  mean  ?  It  means  that 
the  life  of  our  souls  is  in  some  respects  like  the  life 
of  a  plant ;  and,  therefore,  that  as  plants  grow,  so 
our  souls  are  to  grow.  Why  do  you  plant  any 
thing,  but  in  order  that  it  may  grow  and  become 
larger,  stronger,  bear  flower  and  fruit?  Be  sure 
God  has  planted  us  in  His  garden,  Christ's  Church, 
for  no  other  reason.  Consider  again — What  is  life 
but  a  continual  growing,  or  a  continual  decaying? 
If  a  tree  does  not  get  larger  and  stronger,  year  by 
year,  is  not  that  a  sure  sign  that  it  is  unhealthy, 
and  that  decay  has  begun  in  it,  that  it  is  unsound 
18 


202  IMPROVEMENT.  [SERM. 

at  heart?  And  what  happens  then  ?  It  begins 
to  become  weaker  and  smaller,  and  cankered  and 
choked  with  serf  and  moss  till  it  dies.  If  a  tree 
is  not  growing,  it  is  sure  in  the  long  run  to  be 
dying;  and  so  are  our  souls.  If  they  are  not 
growing,  they  are  dying;  if  they  are  not  getting 
better  they  are  getting  worse.  This  is  why  the 
Bible  compares  our  souls  to  trees — not  out  of  a 
mere  petty  fancy  of  poetry,  but  for  a  great,  awful, 
deep,  world-wide  lesson,  that  every  tree  in  the  fields 
may  be  a  pattern,  a  warning,  to  us  thoughtless 
men,  that  as  that  tree  is  meant  to  grow,  so  our 
souls  are  meant  to  grow;  as  that  tree  dies,  unless 
it  grows,  so  our  souls  must  die  unless  they  grow. 
Consider  that ! 

But  how  does  a  tree  grow?  How  are  our  souls 
to  grow?  Now  here,  again,  we  shall  understand 
heavenly  things  best  by  taking  and  considering  the 
pattern  from  among  earthly  things  which  the  Bible 
gives  us — the  tree,  I  mean.  A  tree  grows  in  two 
ways.  Its  roots  take  up  food  from  the  ground,  its 
leaves  take  up  food  from  the  air.  Its  roots  are  its 
mouth,  we  may  say,  and  its  leaves  are  its  lungs. 
Thus  the  tree  draws  nourishment  from  the  earth 
beneath  and  from  the  heaven  above ;  and  so  must 
our  souls,  my  friends;  if  they  are  to  live  and  grow, 
they  must  have  food,  both  from  earth  and  from  hea- 
ven.    And  this  is  what  I  mean: — 

Why  has  God  given  us  senses,  eyes,  and  ears,  and 


XVIII.]  IMPROVEMENT.  203 

understanding?  That  by  them  we  may  feed  our 
souls  with  things  which  we  see  and  hear,  things 
which  are  going  on  in  the  world  round  us.  We 
must  read,  and  we  must  listen,  and  we  must  watch 
people  and  their  sayings  and  doings,  and  what 
becomes  of  them,  and  we  must  try  and  act,  and 
practise  what  is  right  for  ourselves;  and  so  we  shall, 
by  using  our  eyes,  and  ears,  and  our  bodies,  get 
practice,  and  experience,  and  knowledge,  from  the 
world  round  us — such  as  Solomon  gives  us  in  his 
Proverbs — and  so  our  eyes,  and  ears,  and  under- 
standings are  to  be  to  us  like  roots,  by  which  we 
may  feed  our  souls  with  earthly  learning  and  expe- 
rience. But  is  this  enough?  No,  surely.  Con- 
sider, again,  God's  example  which  He  has  given  us 
— a  tree.  If  you  keep  stripping  all  the  leaves  off  a 
tree,  as  fast  as  they  grow,  what  becomes  of  it?  It 
dies,  because  without  leaves  it  cannot  get  nourish- 
ment from  the  air,  and  the  rain,  and  the  sunlight. 
Again,  if  you  shut  up  a  tree  where  it  can  get  nei- 
ther rain,  air,  nor  light,  what  happens  ?  The  tree  cer- 
tainly dies,  though  it  may  be  planted  in  the  very 
richest  soil,  and  have  the  very  strongest  roots;  and 
why?  because  it  can  get  no  food  from  the  sky  above. 
So  with  our  souls,  my  friends.  If  we  get  no  food 
from  above,  our  souls  will  die,  though  we  have  all  the 
wit,  and  learning,  and  experience,  in  the  world.  We 
must  be  fed,  and  strengthened,  and  satisfied,  with 
the  grace  of  God  from  above — with  the  Spirit  of 


204  IMPROVEMENT.  [SERM. 

God.  Consider  how  the  Bible  speaks  of  God's 
Spirit  as  the  breath  of  God;  for  the  very  word 
spirit  means,  originally,  breath,  or  air,  or  gas,  or  a 
breeze  of  wind,  showing  us  that  as  without  the  airs 
of  heaven  the  tree  would  become  stunted  and  can- 
kered, so  our  souls  will  without  the  fresh,  purifying 
breath  of  God's  Spirit.  Again,  God's  Spirit  is  often 
spoken  of  in  Scripture  as  dew  and  rain.  His  grace 
or  favour,  we  read,  is  as  dew  on  the  grass;  and 
again,  that  God  shall  come  unto  us  as  the  rain,  as 
the  first  and  latter  rain  upon  the  earth ;  and  again, ^ 
speaking  of  the  outpourings  of  God's  Spirit  on  His 
Church,  the  Psalmist  says  that  "  He  shall  come  down 
as  the  rain  upon  the  mown  grass,  as  showers  that 
water  the  earth;"  and  to  show  us  that  as  the  tree 
puts  forth  buds,  and  leaves,  and  tender  wood,  when 
it  drinks  in  the  dew  and  rains,  so  our  hearts  will 
become  tender,  and  bud  out  into  good  thoughts 
and  wise  resolves,  when  God's  Spirit  fills  them  with 
His  grace. 

But,  again,  the  Scripture  tells  us  again  and  again 
that  our  souls  want  light  from  above;  and  we  all 
know  by  experience  that  the  trees  and  plants  which 
grow  on  earth  want  the  light  of  the  sun  to  make 
them  grow.  So,  doubtless,  here  again  the  Scripture 
example  of  a  tree  will  hold  good.  Now  what  does 
the  sunlight  do  for  the  tree  ?  It  does  every  thing, 
for  without  light,  the  soil,  and  air,  and  rain,  are  all 
useless.     It  stirs  up  the  sap,  it  hardens  the  wood, 


XVIII.]  IMPROVEMENT.  205 

it  brings  out  the  blossom,  it  colours  the  leaves  and 
the  flowers,  it  ripens  the  fruit.  The  light  is  the 
life  of  the  tree ;  and  is  there  not  one,  my  friends,  of 
whom  these  words  are  written — that  He  is  the  Life, 
and  that  He  is  the  Light— that  He  is  the  Sun  of 
Righteousness  and  the  bright  and  morning  Star — 
that  He  is  the  light  which  lighteth  every  man  that 
cometh  into  the  world — that  in  him  was  life,  and 
the  Life  was  the  light  of  men  ?  Do  you  not  know 
of  whom  I  speak?  Even  of  Him  that  was  born  at 
Bethlehem  and  died  on  the  cross,  who  now  sits  at 
God's  right  hand,  praying  for  us,  offering  to  us 
His  body  and  His  blood; — Jesus  the  Son  of  God, 
He  is  the  Light  and  the  Life.  From  Him  alone 
our  light  must  come ;  from  Him  alone  our  life  must 
come,  now  and  for  ever.  Oh,  think  seriously  of 
this — and  think,  too,  how  a  short  time  before  He 
died  on  earth  He  spoke  of  Himself  as  the  Bread  of 
life — the  living  Bread  which  comes  down  from  hea- 
ven; how  He  declared  to  men,  that  unless  they  eat 
His  flesh  and  drink  His  blood,  they  have  no  life  in 
them.  And,  lastly,  consider  this,  how  "the  same 
night  that  He  was  betrayed,  He  took  bread,  and 
when  he  had  given  thanks,  He  brake  it,  and  said, 
Take,  eat;  this  is  my  body,  which  is  broken  for  you; 
this  do  in  remembrance  of  me."  And  how,  likewise, 
"He  took  the  cup,  and  when  he  had  blessed  it,  He 
gave  it  to  them,  saying,  Drink  ye  all  of  this ;  for 
this  is  the  new  covenant  in  my  blood,  which  is  shed 
18* 


206  IMPROVEMENT.  [SERM. 

for  you  and  for  many,  for  the  remission  of  sins: 
this  do  ye,  as  oft  as  ye  drink  it,  in  remembrance  of 
me."  Oh,  consider  these  words,  my  friends — to  you 
all  and  every  one  they  were  spoken.  "Drink  ye  all 
of  this,"  said  the  Blessed  One ;  and  will  you  refuse  to 
drink  it?  He  offers  you  the  bread  of  life,  the  sign 
and  the  pledge  of  His  body,  which  shall  feed  your 
souls  with  everlasting  strength  and  life;  and  will 
you  refuse  what  the  Son  of  God  offers  you,  what  He 
bought  for  you  with  His  death?  God  forbid,  my 
friends !  This  is  your  blessed  right  and  privilege — 
the  right  and  the  privilege  of  every  one  of  you — to 
come  freely  and  boldly  to  that  holy  table,  and  there 
to  remember  your  Saviour.  At  that  table  to  confess 
your  Saviour  before  men — at  that  table  to  show 
that  you  really  believe  that  Jesus  Christ  died  for 
you — at  that  table  to  claim  your  share  in  the 
strength  of  His  body,  in  the  pardon  of  His  blood, 
which  cleanses  from  all  sin — and  at  that  table  to 
receive  what  you  claim;  to  receive  at  that  table  the 
wine,  as  a  sign  from  Christ  Himself,  that  His  blood 
has  washed  away  your  sins;  and  the  bread,  as  a 
sign  that  His  body  and  His  Spirit  are  really  feeding 
your  spirits,  that  your  souls  are  strengthened  and 
refreshed  by  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ,  as  your 
bodies  are  with  the  bread  and  wine.  I  have  shown 
you  that  your  souls  must  be  fed  from  heaven, — 
that  the  Lord's  Supper  is  a  sign  to  you  that  they 
are  fed  from  heaven.     You  pray  to  God,  I  hope, 


XVIII.]  IMPROVEMENT.  207 

many  of  you,  that  He  would  give  you  His  Holy 
Spirit,  that  He  would  change,  and  renew,  and 
strengthen  your  souls — you  pray  God  to  do  this, 
I  hope?  Well,  then,  there  is  the  answer  to  your 
prayers.  There  your  souls  will  be  renewed  and 
strengthened — there  you  will  claim  your  share  in 
Christ,  who  alone  can  renew  and  strengthen  them. 
The  bread  which  is  there  broken  is  the  communion, 
the  sharing  of  the  body  of  Christ;  the  cup  which  is 
there  blessed  is  the  communion  of  the  blood  of 
Christ:  to  that  heavenly  treat,  to  that  spiritual 
food  of  your  souls,  Jesus  Himself  invites  you,  He 
who  is  the  life  of  men.  Do  not  let  it  be  said  at 
the  last  day  of  any  one  of  you,  that  when  the  Son 
of  God  Himself  invites  you,  you  would  not  come  to 
Him  that  you  might  have  life. 


SERMON   XIX 


MAN'S  WORKING  DAY. 

"  Jesus  answered,  Are  there  not  twelve  hours  in  the  day?  If 
any  man  walk  in  the  day,  he,  stumbleth  not,  because  he  seeth 
the  light  of  this  world.  But  if  a  man  walk  in  the  night,  he 
stunibleth,  because  there  is  no  light  in  him." — John,  xi.  9,  10. 

This  was  our  blessed  Lord's  answer  to  His  disci- 
ples when  they  said  to  Him,  "Master,  the  Jews 
of  late  tried  to  stone  Thee,  and  goest  Thou  among 
them  again?"  And  "Jesus  answered,  Are  there 
not  twelve  hours  in  the  day  ?  If  any  man  walk  in 
the  day,  he  stumbleth  not,  because  he  seeth  the 
light  of  this  world.  But  if  a  man  walk  in  the  night, 
he  stumbleth,  because  there  is  no  light  in  him." 

Now,  at  first  sight,  one  does  not  see  what  this  has 
to  do  with  the  disciples'  question — it  seems  no  an- 
swer at  all  to  it.  But  we  must  remember  who  it 
was  who  gave  that  answer — the  Son  of  God,  from 
whom  all  words  come,  who  came  to  do  good,  and 
only  good,  every  minute  of  His  life.  And,  therefore, 
we  may  be  sure  that  He  never  threw  away  a  single 
word.     And  we  must  remember,  too,  to  whom  He 


SBRM.  XIX.]        MAN'S  WORKING  DAY.  209 

spoke — to  His  disciples,  whom  He  was  training  to  be 
apostles  to  the  whole  world,  teaching  them  in  every 
thing  some  deep  lesson,  to  fit  them  for  their  glorious 
calling,  as  preachers  of  the  good  news  of  His  coming. 
So  we  may  be  sure  that  He  would  never  put  off  any 
question  of  theirs ;  we  may  be  certain  that,  whatever 
they  asked  Him,  He  would  give  them  the  best  possi- 
ble answer;  not,  perhaps,  just  the  answer  for  which 
they  wished,  but  the  answer  which  would  teach 
them  most.  Therefore,  I  say,  we  must  believe  that 
there  is  some  deep,  wonderful  lesson  in  this  text — 
that  it  is  the  very  best  and  fullest  answer  which  our 
Lord  could  have  made  to  His  disciples  when  they 
asked  Him  why  He  was  going  again  to  Judea,  where 
He  stood  in  danger  of  His  life. 

Let  us  think  a  little  about  this  text  in  faith,  that 
is,  sure  that  there  is  a  deep,  blessed  meaning  in  it, 
if  we  can  but  find  it  out.  Let  us  take  it  piece  by 
piece :  we  shall  never  get  to  the  bottom  of  it,  of 
course,  but  we  may  get  deep  enough  into  it  to  set  us 
thinking  a  little  between  now  and  next  Sunday. 

"Are  there  not  twelve  hours  in  the  day?"  said 
our  Lord.  We  know  there  are,  and  we  know,  too, 
that  if  any  man  walks  in  the  day,  and  keeps  his  eyes 
open,  he  does  not  stumble,  because  he  has  the  light 
of  this  world  to  guide  him.  Twelve  hours  for  busi- 
ness, and  twelve  for  food,  and  sleep,  and  rest,  is  our 
rule  for  working  men,  or,  indeed,  not  our  rule,  but 
God's.    He  has  set  the  sun  for  the  light  of  this  world, 


210  man's  working  day  [serm. 

to  rule  the  day,  to  settle  for  us  how  long  we  are 
to  work.  In  this  country  days  vary.  In  summer 
they  are  more  than  twelve  hours,  and  then  men  work 
early  and  late ;  but  that  is  made  up  to  us  by  winter, 
when  the  days  are  less  than  twelve  hours,  and  men 
work  short  time.-  In  the  very  cold  countries,  again, 
far  away  in  the  frozen  north,  the  sun  never  sets  all 
the  summer,  and  never  rises  all  the  winter,  and  there 
are  six  months  day  and  six  months  night.  Wonder- 
ful !  But  even  there  God  has  fitted  the  land  and 
men's  lives  to  that  strange  climate,  and  they  can  ga- 
ther in  enough  meat  in  the  summer  to  keep  them 
all  the  winter,  that  they  may  be  able  to  spend  the 
long  six  months'  night  of  winter  warm  in  their 
houses,  sleeping  and  resting,  with  plenty  of  food. 
So  that  even  to  them  there  are  twelve  hours  in  the 
day,  though  their  hours  are  each  a  fortnight  long, — 
I  mean  a  certain  fixed  time  in  which  to  walk,  and  do 
the  business  which  they  have  to  do  before  the  long 
frozen  night  comes,  wherein  no  man  can  work,  be- 
cause the  sun,  the  light  of  this  world,  is  hid  from 
them  below  the  ice  for  six  whole  months.  So  that 
our  Lord's  words  hold  true  of  all  men,  even  of  those 
people  in  the  icy  north.  But  in  by  far  the  most 
parts  of  the  world,  and  especially  in  the  hot  countries, 
where  our  Lord  lived,  there  are  twelve  common  hours 
in  every  day,  wherein  men  may  and  ought  to  work. 

Now  what  did  our  Lord  mean  by  reminding  His 
disciples  of  this,  which  they  all  knew  already?     He 


xix.]  man's  wobking  day.  211 

meant  this, — that  God  His  Father  had  appointed 
Him  a  certain  work  to  do,  and  a  certain  time  to  do 
it  in ;  that  though  His  day  was  short,  only  thirty- 
three  years  in  all,  while  we  have,  many  of  us,  seventy 
years  given  us,  yet  that  there  were  twelve  hours  in 
His  day  in  which  He  must  work — that  God  would 
take  care  that  He  lived  out  His  appointed  time,  pro- 
vided He  was  ready  and  earnest  in  doing  God's  work 
in  it — and  that  He  must  work  in  that  time  which 
God  had  given  Him,  whatever  came  of  it,  and  do 
His  appointed  work  before  the  night  of  death  came, 
in  which  no  man  can  work. 

There  was  a  heathen  king  once,  named  Philip,  of 
Macedon,  and  a  very  wise  king  he  was,  though  he 
was  a  heathen,  and  one  of  the  wisest  of  his  plans 
was  this  : — he  had  a  slave,  whom  he  ordered  to  come 
in  to  him  every  morning  of  his  life,  whatever  he 
was  doing,  and  say  to  him  in  a  loud  voice,  "Philip, 
remember  that  thou  must  die!" 

He  was  a  heathen,  but  a  great  many  who  call 
themselves  Christians  are  not  half  so  wise  as  he,  for 
they  take  all  possible  care,  not  to  remember  that 
they  must  die,  but  to  forget  that  they  must  die;  and 
yet  every  living  man  has  a  servant  who,  like  King 
Philip's,  puts  him  in  mind,  whether  he  likes  it  or 
not,  that  his  day  will  run  out  at  last,  and  his 
twelve  hours  of  life  be  over,  and  then  die  he  must. 
And  who  is  that  servant?  A  man's  own  body. 
Happy  if  his  body  is  his  servant,  though — not  his 


212  man's  working  day.  [serm. 

master  and  his  tyrant.  But  still,  be  that  as  it  may, 
every  finger-ache  that  one's  body  has,  every  cough 
and  cold  one's  body  catches,  ought  to  be  to  us  a 
warning,  like  King  Philip's  servant,  ''Remember 
that  thou  must  die."  Every  little  pain  and  illness 
is  a  warning,  a  kindly  hint  from  our  Father  in 
heaven,  that  we  are  doomed  to  death;  that  we  have 
but  twelve  hours  in  this  short  day  of  life,  and  that 
the  twelve  must  end;  and  that  we  must  get  our 
work  done  and  our  accounts  settled,  and  be  ready 
for  our  long  journey,  to  meet  our  Father  and  our 
King,  before  the  night  comes  wherein  no  man  can 
work,  but  only  takes  his  wages ;  for  them  who  have 
done  good  the  wages  of  life  eternal,  and  for  them 
who  have  done  evil — God  help  them  !  we  know  what 
is  written — "the  wTages  of  sin  is  death!" 

Now,  observe  next,  that  those  who  walk  in  the 
day  do  not  stumble,  because  they  see  the  light  of 
this  world,  and  those  who  walk  in  the  night  stumble 
— they  have  no  light  in  them.  If  they  are  to  see, 
it  must  be  by  the  help  of  some  light  outside  them- 
selves, which  is  not  part  of  themselves,  or  belonging 
to  themselves  at  all.  We  only  see  by  the  light 
which  God  has  made;  when  that  is  gone,  our  eyes 
are  useless. 

So  it  is  with  our  souls.  Our  wits,  however  clever 
they  may  be,  only  understand  things  by  the  light 
which  God  throws  on  those  things.  He  must  ex- 
plain  and  enlighten   all  things   to   us.      Without 


xix.]  man's  working  day.  213 

His  light,  His  Spirit,  all  the  wit  in  the  world  is 
as  useless  as  a  pair  of  eyes  in  a  dark  night. 

Now  this  earthly  world,  which  we  do  see,  is  an 
exact  picture  and  pattern  of  the  spiritual,  heavenly 
world  which  we  do  not  see,  as  Solomon  says  in  the 
Proverbs,  "  The  things  which  are  seen  are  the  dou- 
bles  of  the  things  which  are  not  seen."  And  as 
there  is  a  light  for  us  in  this  earth,  which  is  not  our- 
selves, namely,  the  sun,  so  there  is  a  light  for  us  in 
the  spirit-world,  which  is  not  ourselves.  And  who  is 
that?  The  blessed  Lord  shall  answer  for  Himself. 
He  says,  "I  am 'the  light  of  the  world;"  and  St. 
John  bears  witness  to  him:  "In  Him  was  life,  and 
the  life  was  the  light  of  men."  And  does  not  St. 
Paul  say  the  same  thing,  when  he  blessed  God  so 
often  for  having  called  him  and  his  congregations 
out  of  darkness  into  that  marvellous  light  ?  If  you 
read  his  Epistles  you  will  find  what  he  meant  by 
the  darkness,  what  he  meant  by  the  light.  The 
darkness  was  heathendom,  knowing  nothing  of 
Christ;  the  light  was  Christianity,  knowing  Christ 
the  light — and  more;  being  in  the  light,  belonging 
to  Christ;  being  joined  to  Him  as  the  leaves  are  to 
the  tree;  living  by  trust  in  Christ;  being  taught 
and  made  true  men  and  women  of  by  the  Noble  and 
Holy  Spirit  of  Christ ;  seeing  their  way  through 
'this  world  by  trust  in  Christ  and  His  promises — that 
was  light. 

And  there  is  no  other  light.     If  a  man  does  not 
19 


214  man's  working  day.  [serm. 

work,  trusting  in  Christ,  whom  God  has  set  for  the 
light  of  the  world,  he  works  in  the  night,  where  God 
never  set  or  meant  him  to  work ;  and  stumble  he  will 
and  make  a  fool  of  himself  sooner  or  later,  because 
he  is  walking  in  the  night,  and  sees  nothing  plainly, 
or  in  a  right  view.  For,  as  our  Lord  says,  truly, 
"  There  is  no  light  in  him."  No  light  in  him?  In 
one  sense  there  is  no  light  in  any  one,  be  he  the 
wisest  or  holiest  man  who  ever  lived.  But  this  is 
just  what  three  people  out  of  four  will  not  believe. 
They  will  not  believe  that  the  Spirit  of  God  gives 
man  understanding.  They  fancy  that  they  have 
light  in  themselves.  They  try,  conceitedly  and  god- 
lessly,  to  walk  by  the  light  of  their  own  eyes — to 
make  their  own  way  plain  before  their  face  for  them- 
selves. They  will  not  believe  old  David,  a  man  who 
worked,  and  fought,  and  thought,  and  saw  far  more 
than  any  one  of  us  will  ever  do,  when  he  tells  them 
again  and  again  in  his  Psalms  that  the  Lord  is  his 
light — that  the  Lord  must  guide  a  man,  and  inform 
him  with  His  eye,  and  teach  him  in  the  way  in  which 
he  should  go.  And  therefore  they  will  not  pray  to 
God  for  light — therefore  they  will  not  look  for  light 
in  God's  Word,  and  in  the  writings  of  godly  men ; 
and  they  are  like  a  man  in  the  broad  sunshine,  who 
should  choose  to  shut  his  eyes  close,  and  say,  "I 
have  light  enough  in  my  own  head  to  do  without 
the  sun;"  and  therefore  they  walk  on  still  in  dark- 
ness, and  all  the  foundations  of  the  earth  are  out  of 


xix.]  man's  working  day.  215 

course,  because  men  forget  the  first  universal  ground 
rules  of  common  sense,  and  reason,  and  love,  which 
God's  Spirit  teaches.  I  tell  jou,  all  the  mistakes 
that  you  ever  made — that  ever  were  made  since 
Adam  fell,  came  from  this,  that  men  will  not  ask 
God  for  light  and  wisdom  ;  they  love  darkness  ra- 
ther than  light,  and  therefore,  though  God's  light 
is  ready  for  every  man,  shining  in  the  darkness  to 
show  every  man  his  way,  yet  the  darkness  will  not 
comprehend  it — will  not  take  it  in,  and  let  God 
change  its  blindness  into  day. 

Now,  then,  to  gather  altogether,  what  better 
answer  could  our  Lord  have  given  to  His  disciples' 
question  than  this,  "Are  there  not  twelve  hours  in 
the  day?  If  a  man  walk  in  the  clay  he  does  not 
stumble,  because  he  seeth  the  light  of  this  world ; 
but  if  a  man  walk  in  the  night,  he  stumbleth,  because 
there  is  no  light  in  him." 

It  was  as  if  He  had  said,  "However  short  my 
day  of  life  may  be,  there  are  twelve  hours  in  it,  of 
my  Father's  numbering  and  measuring,  not  of  mine. 
My  times  are  in  His  hand,  as  long  as  He  pleases  I 
shall  live.  He  has  given  me  work  to  do,  and  He 
will  see  that  I  live  long  enough  to  do  it.  Into  His 
hands  I  commend  my  spirit,  for,  living  or  dying, 
He  is  with  me.  Though  I  walk  through  the  valley 
of  the  shadow  of  death,  He  will  be  with  me.  He 
will  keep  me  secretly  in  His  tabernacle  from  the 
strife  of  tongues,  and  will  turn  the  furiousness  of  my 


216  man's  working  day.  [serm. 

enemies  to  His  glory;  and  as  my  clay  my  strength 
will  be.  And  I  have  no  fear  of  running  into  danger 
needlessly.  I  have  prayed  to  Him  daily  and  nightly 
for  light,  for  His  Spirit — the  spirit  of  wisdom  and 
understanding,  of  prudence  and  courage;  and  His 
word  is  pledged  to  keep  me  in  all  my  ways,  so  that 
I  dash  not  my  foot  against  a  stone.  Know  ye  not 
that  I  must  be  about  my  Father's  business  ?  While 
I  am  about  that  I  am  safe.  It  is  only  if  I  go  about 
my  own  business — my  own  pleasure,  if  I  forget  to 
ask  Him  for  His  light  and  guidance,  that  I  shall 
put  myself  into  the  night,  and  stumble  and  fall." 

Well,  my  friends,  what  is  there  in  all  this,  which 
wTe  may  not  say  as  well  as  our  Lord?  In  this,  as  in 
all  things,  Christ  set  Himself  up  as  our  pattern.  Oh, 
believe  it — believe  that  your  time — your  measure 
of  life,  is  in  God's  hand.  Believe  that  He  is  your 
light,  that  He  will  teach  and  guide  you  into  all  truth, 
and  that  all  your  mistakes  come  from  not  asking 
counsel  of  Him  in  prayer  and  thought,  and  reading 
of  His  Holy  Bible.  Believe  His  blessed  promise 
that  He  will  give  His  Holy  Spirit  to  those  who  ask 
Him.  Believe,  too,  that  He  has  given  you  a  work 
to  do  —  prepared  good  works  all  ready  for  you  to 
walk  in.  Be  you  labourer  or  gentleman,  maid,  wife, 
or  widow,  God  has  given  you  a  work  to  do;  there  is 
good  to  be  done  lying  all  round  you,  ready  for  you. 
And  the  blessed  Jesus,  who  bought  you,  body  and 
soul,  with  His  own  blood,  commands  you  to  work 


xix.]  man's  working  day.  217 

for  Him :  "Whatsoever  your  hand  finds  to  do,  do  it 
with  all  your  might." 

"  Work,  ye  manful,  -while  ye  may, 
Work  for  God  in  this  your  day ; 
Night  must  stop  you,  rich  or  poor, 
Godly  deeds  alone  endure." 

And  then,  whether  you  live  or  die,  your  Father's 
smile  will  be  on  you,  and  His  everlasting  arms  be- 
neath you ;  and  at  your  last  hour  you  shall  find  that 
"Blessed  are  the  dead  that  die  in  the  Lord,  for  they 
rest  from  their  labour,  and  their  works  do  follow 
them." 


19* 


SERMON   XX 


ASSOCIATION.  . 

"Bear  ye  one  another's  burdens,  and  so  fulfil  the  law  of  Christ." 
— Galatians,  vi.  2. 

If  I  were  to  ask  you,  my  friends,  why  you  were 
met  together  here  to-clay,  you  would  tell  me,  I 
suppose,  that  you  were  come  to  church  as  members 
of  a  benefit  club ;  and  quite  right  you  are  in  coming 
here  as  such,  and  God  grant  that  we  may  meet 
together  here  on  this  same  errand  many  more  Whit- 
mondays.  But  this  would  be  no  answer  to  my  ques- 
tion ;  I  wish  to  know  why  you  come  to  church  to- 
clay  sooner  than  to  any  other  place?  what  has  the 
church  to  do  with  the  benefit  club?  Now  this  is 
a  question  which  I  do  not  think  all  of  you  could 
answer  very  readily,  and  therefore  I  wish  to  make 
you,  especially  the  younger  members  of  the  club, 
think  a  little  seriously  about  the  meaning  of  your 
coming  here  to-day.  You  will  be  none  the  less 
cheerful  this  evening  for  having  had  some  deep  and 
godly  thoughts  in  your  heads  this  morning. 

Now  these  benefit  clubs  are  also  called  provident 


SERM.  XX.]  ASSOCIATION.  219 

societies,  and  a  very  good  name  for  them.  You  be- 
come members  of  them  because  you  are  prudent,  or 
provident,  that  is,  because  you  are  careful,  and  look 
forward  to  a  rainy  day.  But-  why  does  not  each  of 
you  lay  up  his  savings  for  himself,  instead  of  putting 
them  into  a  common  purse,  and  so  forming  a  club  ? 
Because  you  have  found  out  what  every  one  else  in 
the  world,  but  madmen,  ought  to  have  found  out, 
that  two  are  better  than  one;  that  if  a  great  many 
men  join  together  in  any  matter,  they  are  a  great 
deal  stronger,  when  working  together,  than  if  they 
each  worked  just  as  hard,  but  each  by  himself;  that 
the  way  to  be  safe  is  not  to  stand  each  of  you  alone, 
but  to  help  each  other;  in  short,  that  there  is  no 
getting  on  without  bearing  one  another's  burdens. 

Now  this  plan  of  bearing  one  another's  burdens 
is  not  only  good  in  benefit  clubs;  it  is  good  in 
families,  in  parishes,  in  nations,  in  the  church  of 
God,  which  is  the  elect  of  all  mankind.  Unless 
men  hold  together,  and  help  each  other,  there  is 
no  safety  for  them. 

Let  us  consider  what  there  is  bearing  on  this 
matter  of  prudence,  that  makes  one  of  the  greatest 
differences  between  a  man  and  a  brute  beast.  It 
is  not  that  the  man  is  prudent,  and  the  beast  is 
not.  Many  beasts  have  forethought  enough :  the 
very  sleepmouse  hoards  up  acorns  against  the  win- 
ter ;  a  fox  will  hide  the  game  he  cannot  eat.  No ; 
the  great  difference  between  man  and  beast  is,  that 


220  ASSOCIATION.  [SERM. 

the  beast  has  forethought  only  for  himself,  but  the 
man  has  forethought  for  others  also;  beasts  have 
not  reason  enough  to  bear  each  other's  burdens,  as 
men  have.  And  what  is  it  that  makes  us  call  the 
ant  and  the  bee  the  wisest  of  animals,  except  that 
they  do,  in  some  degree,  behave  like  men  in  help- 
ing one  another,  and  having  some  sort  of  family 
feeling,  and  society,  and  government  among  them, 
by  which  they  can  help  bear  each  other's  burdens  ? 
So  that  we  all  confess,  by  calling  them  wise,  how 
wise  it  is  to  help  each  other.  Consider  a  family, 
again.  In  order  that  a  family  may  be  happy  and 
prosperous,  all  the  members  of  it  must  bear  each 
other's  burdens.  If  the  father  only  thought  of  him- 
self, and  the  mother  of  herself,  and  each  of  the  chil- 
dren did  nothing  but  take  care  of  themselves,  would 
not  that  family  come  to  misery  and  ruin?  But  if 
they  all  helped  each  other — all  thought  of  each 
other  more  than  themselves — all  were  ready  to  give 
up  their  own  comfort  to  make  each  other  comfort- 
able, that  family  would  be  peaceful  and  prosperous, 
and  would  be  doing  a  great  deal  towards  fulfilling 
the  law  of  Christ. 

It  is  just  the  same  in  a  parish.  If  the  rich  help 
and  defend  the  poor,  and  the  poor  respect  and  love 
the  rich,  and  are  ready  to  serve  them  as  far  as  they 
can — in  short,  if  all  ranks  bear  each  other's  burdens, 
that  parish  is  a  happy  one,  and  if  they  do  not,  it 
is  a  miserable  one. 


XX.]  ASSOCIATION.  221  - 

Just  the  same  with  a  nation.  If  the  king  only 
cares  about  making  himself  strong,  and  the  noble- 
men and  gentlemen  about  their  rank  and  riches, 
and  the  poor  people,  again,  only  care  for  themselves, 
and  are  trying  to  pull  down  the  rich,  and  so  get 
what  they  can  for  themselves, — if  a  country  is  in 
this  state,  what  can  be  more  wretched?  Neither  a 
house,  nor  a  country,  divided  against  itself,  can  ever 
stand.  But  if  the  king  and  the  nobles  give  their 
whole  minds  to  making  good  laws,  and  seeing  jus- 
tice done  to  all,  and  workmen  fairly  paid,  and  if 
the  poor,  in  their  turns,  are  loyal,  and  ready  to  fight 
and  work  for  their  king  and  their  nobles,  then  will 
not  that  country  be  a  happy  and  a  great  country? 
Surely  it  will,  because  its  people,  instead  of  caring 
every  man  for  himself  only,  help  each  other  and  bear 
one  another's  burdens. 

And  just  in  the  same  way  with  Christ's  Church, 
with  the  company  of  true  Christian  men.  If  the 
clergymen  thought  only  of  themselves  and  neglected 
the  people,  and  forgot  to  labour  among  them,  and 
pray  for  them,  and  preach  to  them;  and  if  the 
people  each  cared  for  himself,  and  never  prayed  to 
God  to  give  them  a  spirit  of  love  and  charity,  and 
never  helped  their  neighbours,  or  did  unto  others 
as  they  wished  to  be  done  by;  and  above  all,  if 
Christ,  our  Head,  left  His  Church,  and  cared  no 
more  about  us,  what  would  become  of  Christ's 
Church  ?     What  would  happen  to  the  whole  race 


t 


222  ASSOCIATION.  [SERM. 

of  sinful  man,  but  misery  in  this  world,  and  ruin 
in  the  next?  But  if  the  people  love  and  help  each 
other,  and  obey  their  ministers,  and  pray  for  them; 
and  if  the  ministers  labour  earnestly  after  the  souls 
and  bodies  of  their  people;  and  Christ  in  heaven 
helps  bo"th  minister  and  people  with  His  Spirit,  and 
His  providence  and  protection;  in  short,  if  all  in 
the  whole  Church  bear  each  other's  burdens,  then 
Christ's  Church  will  stand,  and  the  gates  of  hell 
will  not  prevail  against  it. 

Thus  you  see  that  this  text  of  bearing  one  ano- 
ther's burdens  is  no  new  or  strange  commandment, 
but  the  very  state  in  which  every  man  is  meant  to 
live,  both  in  his  family,  his  parish,  his  country,  and 
his  Church — all  his  life  helping  others,  and  being 
helped  by  them  in  turn.  And  because  families  and 
nations,  and  the  Church  of  Christ  above  all,  are 
good,  and  holy,  and  beautiful,  therefore  any  society 
which  is  formed  upon  the  same  plan — I  mean  of 
helping  each  other — must  be  good  also.  And, 
therefore,  benefit  societies  are  right  and  reasonable 
things,  and  among  all  the  good  which  they  do,  they 
do  this  one  great  good,  that  they  teach  men  to  re- 
member that  there  is  no  use  trying  to  stand  alone, 
but  that  the  way  to  be  safe  and  happy  is  to  bear 
each  other's  burdens. 

Thus  benefit  societies  are  patterns  of  Christ's 
Church.  But  now,  my  friends,  there  is  another 
point  for  each  of  you  to  consider,  which  is  this — 


XX.]  ASSOCIATION.  223 

the  benefit  club  is  a  good  thing,  but  are  you  a 
good  member  of  the  club  ?  Do  you  do  your  duty, 
each  of  you,  in  the  club  as  Christian  men  should? 
I  do  not  ask  whether  you  pay  your  subscriptions 
regularly  or  not — that  is  quite  right  and  necessary, 
but  there  is  something  more  than  that  wanted  to 
make  a  club  go  on  rightly.  Mere  paying  and  re- 
ceiving money  will  never  keep  men  together  any 
more  than  any  other  outward  business.  A  man  may 
pay  his  club-money  regularly,  and  yet  not  be  a 
really  good  member.  And  how  is  this  ?  You  re- 
member that  I  tried  to  show  you  that  a  family,  and 
a  nation,  and  a  church,  all  were  kept  together  by 
the  same  principle  of  bearing  one  another's  bur- 
dens, just  as  a  benefit  club  is.  Now,  what  makes  a 
man  a  good  member  of  Christ's  Church, — a  good 
Christian,  in  short?  A' man  may  pay  his  tithes  to 
the  rector,  and  his  church-rates  to  repair  Orod's  house, 
and  his  poor-rates  to  maintain  God's  poor,  all  very 
regularly,  and  yet  be  a  very  bad  member  of  Christ's 
Church.  These  payments  are  all  right  and  good; 
yet  they  are  but  the  outside,  the  letter  of  what  God 
requires  of  him.  What  is  wanted  is,  to  serve  God 
in  the  Spirit,  to  have  the  spirit — the  will,  of  a 
Christian  in  him ;  that  is,  to  do  all  these  things  for 
GrocVs  sake — not  of  constraint,  but  willingly, — "not 
grudgingly,  for  God  loveth  a  cheerful  giver."  No  ! 
If  a  man  is  a  really  good  member  of  Christ's  Church, 
he  lives  a  life  of  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  of  thank- 


224  ASSOCIATION.  [SERM. 

fulness  to  Him  for  His  infinite  love  and  mercy  in 
coming  down  to  die  for  us;  and  thus  the  love  of 
God  and  man  is  shed  abroad  in  his  heart  by  God's 
Spirit  which  is  given  to  him.  Therefore,  that  man 
thinks  it  an  honour  to  pay  church-rates,  and  so 
help  towards  keeping  God's  house  in  repair  and 
neatness.  He  pays  his  tithes  cheerfully,  because 
he  loves  God's  ministers,  and  feels  their  use  and 
worth  to  him.  He  pays  his  poor-rates  with  a  will- 
ing mind,  for  the  sake  of  that  God  who  has  said, 
that  "He  who  gives  to  the  poor  lends  to  the  Lord." 
And  so  he  obeys  not  only  the  letter  but  the  spirit 
of  the  law. 

But  the  man  does  more  than  this.  Besides  obey- 
ing not  only  the  letter  but  the  spirit  of  the  law,  he 
helps  his  brethren  in  a  thousand  other  ways.  He 
shows,  in  short,  by  every  action,  that  he  believes  in 
God  and  loves  his  neighbour. 

And  why  should  it  not  be  just  the  same  in  a 
benefit  club?  There  the  good  member  is  not  the 
man  who  pays  his  money  merely  to  have  a  claim  for 
relief  when  he  himself  is  sick,  and  yet  grudges  every 
farthing  that  goes  to  help  other  members.  That 
man  is  not  a  good  member.  He  has  come  into  the 
club  merely  to  take  care  of  himself,  and  not  to  bear 
others'  burdens.  He  may  obey  the  letter  of  the 
club-rules  by  paying  in  his  subscriptions  and  by 
granting  relief  to  sick  members,  but  he  does  not 
obey  the  spirit  of  them.     If  he  did,  he  would  be 


XX.]  ASSOCIATION.  225 

glad  to  bear  his  sick  neighbour's  burden  with  so 
little  trouble  to  himself.  He  would,  therefore,  grant 
club  relief  willingly  and  cheerfully  when  it  was 
wanted, — ay,  he  would  thank  God  that  he  had  an 
opportunity  of  helping  his  neighbours.  He  would 
feel  that  all  the  members  of  the  society  were  his 
brothers  in  a  double  sense;  first,  because  they  had 
joined  with  him  to  help  and  support  each  other  in 
the  society;  and  next  that  they  were  his  brothers 
in  Christ,  who  had  been  baptized  into  the  same 
Church  of  God  with  himself.  And  he  would,  there- 
fore, delight  in  supporting  them  in  their  sickness, 
and  honouring  them  when  they  died,  and  in  helping 
their  widows  and  orphans  in  their  affliction;  in 
short,  in  bearing  his  neighbours'  burdens,  and  so 
fulfilling  the  law  of  Christ.  And  do  you  not  see, 
that  if  any  of  you  subscribe  to  this  benefit  society 
in  such  a  spirit  as  this,  that  they  are  the  men  to 
give  an  answer  to  the  question  I  asked  at  first — 
"Why  are  you  all  here  at  church  to-day?"  They 
come  here  for  the  same  reason  that  you  all  ought  to 
come,  to  thank  God  for  having  kept  them  well,  and 
out  of  the  want  of  relief  for  the  past  year,  and  to 
thank  Him,  too,  for  having  enabled  them  to  bear 
their  sick  neighbours'  burdens.  And  they  come, 
also,  to  pray  to  God  to  keep  them  well  and  strong 
for  the  year  to  come,  and  to  raise  up  those  members 
who  are  in  sickness  and  distress,  that  they  may  all 
worship  God  here  together  another  year,  as  a  com- 
20 


226  ASSOCIATION.  [SERM.  XX. 

pany  of  faithful  friends,  helping  each  other  on 
through  this  life,  and  all  on  the  way  to  the  same 
heavenly  home,  where  there  will  be  no  more  poverty, 
nor  sorrow,  nor  sickness,  nor  death,  and  God  shall 
wipe  away  tears  from  all  widows  and  orphans'  eyes. 
And  now,  my  friends,  I  have  tried  to  put  some 
new  and  true  thoughts  into  your  head  about  your 
club  and  your  business  in  this  church  to-day.  And 
I  pray,  God  grant  that  you  may  remember  them, 
and  think  of  this  whole  matter  as  a  much  more 
solemn  and  holy  one  than  you  ever  did  before. 


SERMON  XXI. 


HEAVEN  ON  EARTH. 

"Whether   ye  eat,  or  drink,  or  whatsoever  ye  do,  do  all  to  the 
glory  of  God." — 1  Cor..,  x.  31. 

This  is  a  command  from  God,  my  friends,  which 
is  well  worth  a  few  minutes'  consideration  this  day; 
well  worth  considering,  because,  though  it  was 
spoken  eighteen  hundred  years  ago,  yet  God  has  not 
changed  since  that  time;  He  is  just  as  glorious  as 
ever;  and  Christian  men's  relation  to  God  has  not 
changed  since  that  time ;  they  still  live,  and  move, 
and  have  their  being  in  God;  they  are  still  His 
children — His  beloved;  Christ,  who  died  for  us,  is 
still  our  King;  God's  Spirit  is  still  with  us;  God's 
mercy  still  saves  us:  we  owe  God  as  much  as  any 
people  ever  did.  If  it  was  ever  any  one's  duty  to 
show  forth  God's  glory,  surely  it  is  our  duty  too. 

Worth  considering,  indeed,  is  this  command,  for 
though  it  is  in  the  Bible,  and  has  been  there  for 
eighteen  hundred  years,  it  is  seldom  read,  seldomer 
understood,  and  still  more  seldom  put  into  prac- 
tice.    Men  eat  and  drink,  and  do  all  manner  of 


228  HEAVEN  ON  EARTH.  [SERM. 

things,  with  all  their  might  and  main;  but  how 
many  of  them  do  they  do  to  the  glory  of  God? 
No;  this  is  the  fault — the  especial  curse  of  our 
day,  that  religion  does  not  mean  any  longer,  as 
it  used,  the  service  of  God — the  being  like  God, 
and  showing  forth  God's  glory.  No;  religion 
means,  nowadays,  the  art  of  getting  to  heaven 
when  we  die,  and  saving  our  own  miserable,  worth- 
less souls,  and  getting  God's  wages  without  doing 
God's  work — as  if  that  was  godliness, — as  if  that 
was  any  thing  but  selfishness ;  as  if  selfishness 
was  any  the  better  for  being  everlasting  selfishness! 
If  selfishness  is  evil,  my  friends,  the  sooner  we  get 
rid  of  it  the  better,  instead  of  mixing  it  up  as  we 
do  with  all  our  thoughts  of  heaven,  and  making  our 
own  enjoyment  and  our  own  safety  the  vile  root  of 
our  hopes  for  all  eternity.  And  therefore  it  is  that 
people  have  forgotten  what  God's  glory  is.  They 
seem  to  think  that  God's  highest  glory  is  saving 
them  from  hell-fire.  And  they  talk  not  of  God  and 
of  the  wondrous  majesty  of  God,  but  only  of  the 
wonder  of  God's  having  saved  them — looking  at 
themselves  all  the  time,  and  not  at  God.  We  must 
get  rid  of  this  sort  of  religion,  my  friends,  at  all 
risks,  in  order  to  get  rid  of  all  sorts  of  irreligion, 
for  one  is  the  father  of  the  other. 

It  is  wonderful,  indeed,  that  we  are  saved  from 
hell,  much  more  raised  to  heaven,  such  peevish, 
cowardly,  pitiful  creatures  as  the  best  of  us  are  : 


XXI.]  HEAVEN  OX  EARTH.  229 

and  yet  the  more  wo  think  of  it,  the  less  wonder 
ayc  shall  find  it.  The  more  we  think  of  the  wonder 
of  all  wonders,  —  God  Himself,  His  majesty,  His 
power,  His  wisdom,  His  love,  His  pity,  His  infi- 
nite condescension, — the  less  reason  we  shall  have 
to  be  surprised  that  he  has  stooped  to  save  us. 
Yes,  do  not  be  startled — for  it  is  true,  that  He  has 
done  for  sinful  men  nothing  contrary  to  Himself, 
but  just  what  was  to  be  expected  from  such  un- 
utterable condescension,  and  pity,  and  generosity, 
as  God's  is.  And  so,  recollecting  this,  we  shall 
begin  to  forget  ourselves,  and  look  at  God ;  and  in 
thinking  of  Him  we  shall  get  beyond  mere  wonder- 
ing at  Him,  and  rise  to  something  higher — to  wor- 
shipping Him. 

Yes,  my  friends,  this  is  what  we  must  try  at  if 
we  would  be  really  godly — to  find  out  what  God 
is — to  find  out  His  likeness,  His  character,  as  He 
is:  and  has  He  not  shown  us  what  He  is?  He 
who  has  earnestly  read  Christ's  story  —  he  who 
has  understood,  and  admired,  and  loved  Christ's 
character,  and  its  nobleness  and  beauty — he  who 
can  believe  that  Jesus  Christ  is  now,  at  this  minute, 
raising  up  his  heart  to  good,  guiding  his  thoughts 
to  good,  he  has  seen  God;  for  he  has  seen  the  Son, 
wTho  is  the  exact  likeness  of  the  Father's  glory,  in 
whom  dwells  all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  in  a 
bodily  shape.  Remember,  he  who  knows  Christ 
knows  God, — and  that  knowledgp  will  help  us  up  a 
20* 


230  HEAVEN  ON  EARTH.  [SERM. 

noble  step  further — it  will  help  us  to  show  forth 
God's  glory.  For  when  we  once  know  what  God's 
glory  is,  we  shall  see  how  to  make  others  know  it 
too.  We  shall  know  how  to  do  God  justice,  to 
set  men  right  as  to  their  notions  of  God,  to  give 
them,  at  all  events,  in  our  own  lives  and  charac- 
ters, a  pattern  of  Christ,  who  is  the  Pattern  of 
God;  and  whatsoever  we  do  we  shall  be  able  to  do 
all  to  God's  glory. 

For  what  is  doing  every  thing  to  the  glory  of 
God?  It  is  this; — we  have  seen  what  God's  glory 
is :  He  is  His  own  glory.  As  you  say  of  any  very 
excellent  man,  you  have  but  to  know  him  to  honour 
him ;  or  of  any  very  beautiful  woman,  you  have  but 
to  see  her  to  admire  her ;  so  I  say  of  God,  men  have 
but  to  see  and  know  Him  to  love  and  honour  Him. 

Well,  then,  my  friends,  if  we  call  ourselves 
Christian  men,  if  we  believe  that  God  is  our 
Father,  and  delight,  as  on  the  grounds  of  com- 
mon feeling  we  ought,  to  honour  our  Father,  we 
should  try  to  make  every  one  honour  Him  as  He 
deserves.  In  short,  whatever  we  do  we  should 
make  it  tend  to  His  glory  —  make  it  a  lesson 
to  our  neighbours,  our  friends,  and  our  families. 
We  should  preach  God's  glory  to  them  day  by 
day,  not  by  words  only,  often  not  by  words  at 
all,  but  by  our  conduct.  Ay,  there  is  the  secret. 
If  you  wish  other  men  to  believe  a  thing,  just 
behave  as  if  you  believed  it  yourself.      Nothing 


XXI.]  HEAVEN  OX  EARTH.  231 

is  so  infectious  as  example.  If  you  wish  your 
neighbours  to  see  what  Jesus  Christ  is  like,  let 
them  see  what  He  can  make  you  like.  If  you  wish 
them  to  know  how  God's  love  is  ready  to  save  them 
from  their  sins,  let  them  see  his  love  save  you  from 
your  sins.  If  you  wish  them  to  see  God's  tender 
care  in  every  blessing  and  every  sorrow  they  have, 
why  let  them  see  you  thanking  God  for  every  sor- 
row and  every  blessing  you  have.  I  tell  you, 
friends,  example  is  every  thing.  One  good  man, — 
one  man  who  does  not  put  his  religion  on  once 
a  week  with  his  Sunday  coat,  but  wears  it  for  his 
working  dress,  and  lets  the  thought  of  God  grow 
into  him,  and  through  and  through  him,  till  every- 
thing he  says  and  does  becomes  religious,  that 
man  is  worth  a  ton  of  sermons — he  is  a  living  Gos- 
pel— he  comes  in  the  spirit  and  power  of  Elias — 
he  is  the  image  of  God.  And  men  see  his  good 
works  and  admire  them  in  spite  of  themselves,  and 
see  that  they  are  Godlike,  and  that  God's  grace  is  no 
dream,  but  that  the  Holy  Spirit  is  still  among  men, 
and  that  all  nobleness  and  manliness  is  His  gift, 
His  stamp,  His  picture;  and  so  they  get  a  glimpse 
of  God  again  in  His  saints  and  heroes,  and  glorify 
their  Father  who  is  in  heaven. 

Would  not  such  a^life  be  a  heavenly  life?  Ay, 
it  would  be  more,  it  would  be  heaven — heaven  on 
earth:  not  in  verse-mongering  cant,  but  really.  We 
should   then    be    sitting,  as    St.  Paul   tells  us,  in 


282  HEAVEN  ON    EARTH.  [SERM. 

heavenly  places  with  Jesus  Christ,  and  having  our 
conversation  in  heaven.  All  the  while  we  were  doing 
our  daily  work,  following  our  business,  or  serving 
our  country,  or  sitting  at  our  own  firesides,  with 
wife  and  child,  we  should  be  all  that  time  in  heaven. 
Why  not?  We  are  in  heaven  now,  if  we  had  but 
faith  to  see  it.  Oh,  get  rid  of  those  carnal,  heathen 
notions  about  heaven,  which  tempt  men  to  fancy^ 
that,  after  having  misused  this  place — God's  earth — 
for  a  whole  life,  they  are  to  fly  away  when  they 
die,  like  swallows  in  autumn,  to  another  place — 
they  know  not  where  —  where  they  are  to  be  very 
happy  —  they  know  not  why  or  how,  nor  do  I 
know  either.  Heaven  is  not  a  mere  flace,  my 
friends.  All  places  are  Heaven,  if  you  will  be 
heavenly  in  them.  Heaven  is  where  God  is  and 
Christ  is,  and  hell  is  where  God  is  not  and  Christ 
is  not.  The  Bible  says,  no  doubt,  there  is  a  place 
now  —  somewhere  beyond  the  skies — where  Christ 
especially  shows  forth  His  glory — a  heaven  of  hea- 
vens :  and  for  reasons  which  I  cannot  explain, 
there  must  be  such  a  place.  But,  at  all  events,  here 
is  heaven ;  for  Christ  is  here  and  God  is  here,  if 
we  will  open  our  eyes  and  see  them.  And  how  ? — 
how?  Did  not  Christ  Himself  say,  "If  a  man  will 
love  Me,  My  Father  will  love  him;  and  we,  My 
Father  and  I,  will  come  to  him,  and  make  our  abode 
with  him,  and  we  will  show  ourselves  to  him?"  Do 
these  words  mean  nothing  or  something  ?     If  they 


XXI.]  HEAVEN  ON  EARTH.  233 

have  any  meaning,  do  they  not  mean  this,  that  in 
this  life,  we  can  see  God — in  this  life  we  can  have 
God  and  Christ  abiding  with  us?  And  is  not  that 
heaven  ?  Yes,  heaven  is  where  God  is.  You  are 
in  heaven  if  God  is  with  you,  you  are  in  hell  if 
God  is  not  with  you ;  for  where  God  is  not,  darkness 
and  a  devil  are  sure  to  be. 

There  was  a  great  poet  once — Dante  by  name — 
who  described  most  truly  and  wonderfully,  in  his 
own  way,  heaven  and  hell,  for,  indeed,  he  had  been 
in  both.  He  had  known  sin  and  shame,  and  doubt, 
and  darkness,  and  despair,  which  is  hell.  And  after 
long  years  of  misery,'he  had  got  to  know  love  and 
hope,  and  holiness  and  nobleness,  and  the  love  of 
Christ  and  the  peace  of  God,  which  is  heaven. 
And  so  well  did  he  speak  of  them,  that  the  ignorant 
people  used  to  point  after  him  with  awe  in  the 
streets,  and  whisper,  There  is  the  man  who  has  been 
in  hell.  Whereon  some  one  made  these  lines 
on  him: — • 

"Thou  hast  seen  hell  and  heaven?     Why  not?    since  heaven 
and  hell 
Within  the  struggling  soul  of  every  mortal  dwell." 

Think  of  that! — thou — and  thou — and  thou! — 
for  in  thee,  at  this  moment,  is  either  heaven  or  hell : 
and  which  of  them  ?  Ask  thyself — ask  thyself,  friend. 
If  thou  art  not  in  heaven  in  this  life,  thou  wilt  never 
be  in  heaven  in  the  life  to  come.     At  death,  says 


234  HEAVEN  ON  EARTH.  [SERM. 

the  wise  man,  each  thing  returns  into  its  own  ele- 
ment, into  the  ground  of  its  life ;  the  light  into  the 
light,  and  the  darkness  into  the  darkness.  As  the 
tree  falls  so  it  lies.  My  friends,  who  call  your- 
selves enlightened  Christian  folk,  do  you  suppose 
that  you  can  lead  a  mean,  worldly,  covetous,  spiteful 
life  here,  and  then  the  moment  your  soul  leaves 
the  body  that  you  are  to  be  changed  into  the  very 
opposite  character,  into  angels  and  saints,  as  fairy 
tales  tell  of  beasts  changed  into  men?  If  a  beast 
can  be  changed  into  a  man,  then  death  can  change 
the  sinner  into  a  saint, — but  not  else.  If  a  beast 
would  enjoy  being  a  man,  then  a  sinner  would  en- 
joy being  in  heaven, — but  not  else.  A  sinful,  worldly 
man  enjoy  being  in  heaven?  Does  a  fish  enjoy 
being  on  dry  land?  The  sinner  would  long  to  be 
back  in  this  world  again.  Why,  what  is  the  em- 
ployment of  spirits  in  heaven,  according  to  the 
Bible,  (for  that  is  the  point  to  which  I  have  been 
trying  to  lead  you  round  again  ?)  What  but  glo- 
rifying God?  Not  trying  only  to  do  every  thing 
to  God's  glory,  but  actually  succeeding  in  doing  it 
— basking  in  the  sunshine  of  His  smile,  delighting 
to  feel  themselves  as  nothing  before  His  glorious 
majesty,  meditating  on  the  beauty  of  His  love,  filling 
themselves  with  the  sight  of  His  power,  searching 
out  the  treasures  of  His  wisdom,  and  finding  God 
in  all  and  all  in  God — their  whole  eternity  one  act 
of  worship,  one  hymn  of  praise.     Are  there  not 


XXI.]  HEAVEN  ON  EARTH.  235 

some  among  us  who  will  have  had  but  little  practice 
at  that  work?  Those  who  have  done  nothing  for 
God's  glory  here,  how  do  they  expect  to  be  able 
to  do  every  thing  for  God's  glory  hereafter  ?  Those 
who  will  not  take  the  trouble  of  merely  standing  up 
at  the  psalms,  like  the  rest  of  their  neighbours,  even 
if  they  cannot  sing  with  their  voices  God's  praises 
in  this  church,  how  will  they  like  singing  God's 
praises  through  eternity?  No;  be  sure  that  the 
only  people  who  will  be  fit  for  heaven,  who  will 
like  heaven  even,  are  those  who  have  been  in  hea- 
ven in  this  life, — the  only  people  who  will  be  able 
to  do  every  thing  to  God's  glory  in  the  new  heavens 
and  new  earth,  are  those  who  have  been  trying  ho- 
nestly to  do  all  to  His  glory  in  this  heaven  and  this 
earth. 

Think  over,  in  the  meantime,  what  I  have  said 
this  day;  consider  it,  and  you  will  have  enough  to 
think  of,  and  pray  over  too,  till  we  meet  here  again. 


SERMON   XXII. 


NATIONAL   PRIVILEGES. 

"Blessed  are  the  eyes  which  see  the  things  which  ye  see:  for 
I  tell  you,  that  many  prophets  and  kings  have  desired  to  see 
those  things  which  ye  see,  and  have  not  seen  them ;  and  to 
hear  those  things  which  ye  hear,  and  have  not  heard  them." — 
Luke,  x.  23. 

This  is  a  noble  text,  my  friends — and  yet  an 
awful  one,  for  if  it  does  not  increase  our  religion, 
it  will  certainly  increase  our  condemnation.  It 
tells  us  that  we,  even  the  meanest  among  us,  are 
more  favoured  by  God  than  the  kings,  and  judges, 
and  conquerors  of  the  old  world,  of  whom  we  read 
this  afternoon  in  the  first  lesson ;  that  we  have  more 
light  and  knowledge  of  God  than  even  the  prophets 
David,  Isaiah,  Jeremiah,  and  Ezekiel,  to  whom  God's 
glory  appeared  in  visible  shape.  It  tells  us  that  we 
see  things  which  they  longed  to  see,  and  could  not; 
that  words  are  spoken  to  us  for  which  their  ears 
longed  in  vain ;  that  they,  though  they  died  in  hope, 
yet  received  not  the  promises,  God  having  provided 
some  better  things  for  us,  that  they  without  us 
should  not  be  made  perfect. 


SERM.  XXII.]      NATIONAL  PRIVILEGES.  237 

Now,  what  was  tins  which  they  longed  for,  and 
had  not,  and  yet  we  have?  It  was  this — a  Saviour 
and  a  Saviour's  kingdom.  All  wise  and  holy  hearts 
for  ages,  as  well  heathens  as  Jews,  had  had  this 
longing.  They  wanted  a  Saviour — one  who  should 
free  them  from  sin  and  conquer  evil — one  who  should 
explain  to  them  all  the  doubt,  and  contradiction, 
and  misery  of  the  world,  and  give  them' some  means 
of  being  freed  from  it — one  who  should  set  them 
the  perfect  pattern  of  what  a  man  should  be,  and 
join  earth  and  heaven,  and  make  godliness  part  of 
man's  daily  life.  They  longed  for  a  Saviour,  and 
for  a  heavenly  kingdom  also.  They  saw  that  all  the 
laws  in  the  world  could  never  make  men  good;  that 
one  half  of  men  broke  them,  and  the  other  half  only 
obeyed  them  unwillingly  through  slavish  fear,  loving 
the  sin  they  dared  not  do.  That  men  got  worse 
and  worse  as  time  rolled  on ;  that  kings,  instead  of 
being  shepherds  of  their  people,  were  only  wolves 
and  tyrants  to  keep  them  in  ignorance  and  misery; 
that  priests  only  taught  the  people  lies,  and  fat- 
tened themselves  at  their  expense;  that,  in  short, 
as  David  said,  men  would  not  learn  or  understand, 
and  all  the  foundations  of  the  earth,  the  grounds 
and  principles  of  society,  politics,  and  religion,  were 
out  of  course,  and  the  devil  very  truly  the  king  of 
this  lower  world.  So  they  longed  for  a  heavenly 
kingdom — a  kingdom  of  God,  one  in  which  men 
should  obey  God  for  love,  and  not  for  fear,  and 
21 


238  NATIONAL  PRIVILEGES.  [SERM. 

man  for  God's  sake ;  a  spiritual  kingdom — a  king- 
dom whose  laws  should  be  written  in  men's  hearts 
and  spirits,  and  be  their  delight  and  glor y,  not  their 
dread.  They  longed  for  a  King  of  kings,  who  should 
teach  all  kings  and  magistrates  to  rule  in  love  and 
wisdom.  They  longed  for  a  High-priest  who  should 
teach  all  priests  to  explain  the  wonder  and  the  glory 
that  there  is  in  every  living  man,  and  in  heaven  and 
earth,  and  all  that  therein  lies,  and  lead  men's 
hearts  into  love,  and  purity,  and  noble  thoughts  and 
deeds.  They  longed,  in  short,  for  a  kingdom  of 
God,  a  golden  age,  a  regeneration  of  the  world,  as 
they  called  it,  and  rightly.  Of  course,  the  Jewish 
prophets  saw  most  clearly  how  this  would  be  brought 
about,  and  how  utterly  necessary  a  Saviour  and  His 
kingdom  was  to  save  mankind  from  utter  ruin. 
They,  I  say,  saw  this  best.  But  still  all  the  wise 
and  pious  heathens,  each  according  to  his  measure 
of  light,  saw  the  same  necessity,  or  else  were  rest- 
less and  miserable  because  they  could  not  see  it. 
So  that  in  all  ages  of  the  world,  in  a  thousand  dif- 
ferent shapes,  there  was  rising  up  to  heaven  a 
mournful,  earnest  prayer,  "Thy  kingdom  come." 

And  now  this  kingdom  is  come,  and  the  King  of  it, 
the  Saviour  of  men,  is  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  God. 
Long  men  prayed,  and  long  men  waited,  and  at  last, 
in  the  fulness  of  God's  good  time,  just  when  the 
night  seemed  darkest,  and  under  the  abominations  of 
the  Roman  empire,  religion,  honesty  and  common  de- 


XXII.]  NATIONAL  PRIVILEGES.  239 

cency,  seemed  to  have  died  out,  the  Sun  of  Right- 
eousness rose  on  the  dead  and  rotten  world,  to  bring 
life  and  immortality  to  light.  God  sent  forth  His 
Son  made  of  a  woman,  not  to  condemn  the  world, 
but  that  the  world,  through  Him,  might  be  saved. 
He  sent  Him  to  be  our  Saviour,  to  die  on  the  cross 
for  our  sins  and  our  children's,  that  all  our  guilt 
might  be  washed  away,  and  we  might  come  boldly  to 
the  throne  of  grace,  with  our  hearts  sprinkled  from 
an  evil  conscience,  and  our  bodies  washed  in  the 
waters  of  baptism.  He  sent  Him  to  be  our  Teacher 
in  the  perfect  law  of  love,  our  pattern  in  every  thing 
which  a  man  should  be,  and  is  not.  He  sent  Him 
to  conquer  death  by  rising  from  the  dead,  that  He 
might  have  power  to  raise  us  also  to  life  and  im- 
mortality. He  sent  Him  to  fill  men  with  His 
Spirit,  the  Spirit  of  reason  and  truth,  the  Spirit  of 
love  and  courage,  that  he  might  know  the  will  of 
God,  and  do  it  as  our  Saviour  did  before  us.  He 
sent  Him  to  found  a  Church,  to  join  all  men 
into  one  brotherhood,  one  kingdom  of  God,  whose 
rulers  are  kings  and  parliaments,  whose  ministers 
are  the  clergy,  whose  prophets  are  all  poets  and 
philosophers,  authors  and  preachers,  who  are  true 
to  their  own  calling;  whose  signs  and  tokens  are 
the  sacraments ;  a  kingdom  which  should  never  be 
moved,  but  should  go  on  for  ever,  drawing  into  it  all 
honest  and  true  hearts,  and  preserving  them  ever 
for  Christ  their  Lord. 


240  NATIONAL  PRIVILEGES.  [sERM. 

And  that  we  might  not  doubt  that  we,  too,  be- 
longed to  this  kingdom,  He  has  placed  in  this  land 
His  ministers  and  teachers,  Christ's  sacraments, 
Christ's  churches  in  every  parish  in  the  land, 
Christ's  Bible,  or  the  means  of  attaining  the  Bible, in 
every  house  and  every  cottage ;  that  from  our  cradle 
to  our  grave  we  might  see  that  we  belonged,  as  sworn 
servants  and  faithful  children,  to  the  great  Father  in 
heaven,  and  Jesus  Christ,  the  King  of  the  earth. 

Thus,  my  friends,  all  that  all  men  have  longed  for 
we  possess  ;  we  want  no  more,  and  we  shall  have  no 
more.  If,  under  the  present  state  of  things,  we 
cannot  be  holy,  we  shall  never  be  holy.  If  we  can- 
not use  our  right  in  this  kingdom  of  Christ,  how 
can  we  become  citizens  of  God's  everlasting  king- 
dom, when  Christ  shall  have  delivered  up  the  domi- 
nion to  His  Father,  and  God  shall  be  all  in  all?  God 
has  done  all  for  us  that  God  will  do.  He  has  given 
us  His  Son  for  a  Saviour,  and  a  Church  in  which  and 
by  which  to  worship  that  Saviour;  and  what  more 
would  we  have?  Alas!  my  friends,  have  we  yet 
used  fairly  what  God  has  given  us  ?  and  if  not,  how 
terrible  will  be  our  guilt!  "How  shall  we  escape 
if  we  neglect  so  great  salvation?"  And  yet  how 
many  do  neglect — how  few  live  as  if  they  were  citi- 
zens of  Christ's  kingdom !  It  seems  as  if  God  had 
been  too  good  to  us,  and  heaped  us  so  heavily  with 
blessings,  that  we  were  tired  of  them,  and  despised 
them  as  common  things.     Common  things?     They 


XXII.]  NATIONAL  PRIVILEGES.  241 

are  the  very  things,  as  I  said,  which  the  great  and 
the  wise  in  all  ages  have  longed  for  and  prayed  for, 
and  yet  never  found !  Surely,  surely,  God  may  well 
say  to  us,  "What  could  have  been  done  unto  my 
vineyard  which  has  not  been  done  to  it?"  What,  in- 
deed !  I  wish  I  could  take  some  of  you  into  a  hea- 
then country  for  a  single  week,  that  you  might  see 
what  it  is  not  to  know  of  a  Saviour — not  to  be 
members  of  His  Church,  as  we  are.  Why,  we  here 
in  England  are  in  the  very  garden  of  the  Lord. 
We  have  but  to  stretch  out  our  hand  to  the  tree  of 
life,  and  eat  and  live  for  ever.  From  our  cradle  to 
our  grave,  Christ  the  King  is  ready  to  guide,  to 
teach,  to  comfort,  to  deliver  us.  When  we  are  born, 
we  are  christened  in  His  name,  made  members  of 
Christ,  children  of  God,  and  inheritors  by  hope  of 
the  kingdom  of  heaven.  Is  that  nothing?-  It  is, 
alas!  nothing  in  the  eyes  of  most  parents!  As  we 
grow  older,  are  we  not  taught  who  we  are — taught 
to  call  God  our  Father — taught  about  Jesus  Christ, 
who  He  is,  and  what  He  is  ?  Is  that,  too,  nothing  ? 
Alas!  that  knowledge  is  generally  a  mere  meaning- 
less school-lesson,  cared  for  neither  by  child  nor  by 
man.  At  confirmation,  again,  we  solemnly  declare 
that  we  belong  to  Christ's  kingdom,  and  that  we 
will  live  as  His  subjects,  and  His  alone.  And  we 
are  brought  to  His  bishops,  to  be  received  as  free, 
reasonable,  Christian  people,  to  claim  our  citizenship 
in  the  kingdom  of  God.  Is  that  nothing  ?  Yet  that, 
21* 


242  NATIONAL  PRIVILEGES.  [SEEM. 

too,  is  nothing  with  three-fourths  of  us.  Nothing? 
Hear  me,  young  people — as  I  have  often  told  you 
— you  are  ready  enough  to  excuse  yourselves  from 
your  confirmation  vows,  by  saying  you  were  not 
taught  to  understand  them — were  not  taught  how 
to  put  them  into  practice.  That  may  be  true,  or  it 
may  not;  your  sin  is  just  the  same.  No  one  with 
any  common  honesty  or  common  sense  could  an- 
swer as  you  have  to  the  bishop's  question  at  con- 
firmation, without  knowing  that  you  did  make  a 
promise,  and  knowing  well  enough  what  you  pro- 
mised— and  you  who  carried  to  confirmation  a  care- 
less heart  and  a  lying  tongue,  have  only  yourselves 
to  blame  for  it !— But  to  proceed :  Is  not  Christ  pre- 
sent, or  ready  to  be  present,  with  us  ?  Sunday  after 
Sunday,  for  years,  have  not  the  churches  been 
opened  all  around  us,  inviting  us  to  enter  and  wor- 
ship Christ,  knowing  that  where  two  or  three  are 
gathered  together,  there  is  Christ  in  the  midst  of 
them.  Is  that  nothing  ?  This  Creed — these  Lessons 
— these  prayers,  which  Sunday  after  Sunday  you 
have  used; — are  they  nothing?  Are  they  not  all 
,  proofs  that  the  kingdom  of  God  is  come  to  you,  and 
means  whereby  you  can  behave  like  children  of  the 
kingdom  ?  And  not  on  Sundays  alone.  Have  we  not 
been  taught  daily,  in  our  own  houses,  in  our  own 
hearts,  in  all  danger,  and  trouble,  and  temptation,  to 
pray  to  Jesus  Christ,  our  King,  knowing  that  He  will 
hear  and  save  all  them  that  put  their  trust  in  Him  ? 


XXII.]  NATIONAL  PRIVILEGES.  243 

Is  that  nothing  ?     On  our  happy  marriage  morn,  too, 
was  it  not  in  God's  house,  before  Christ's  minister, 
in  Christ's  name  that  we  were  married  ?     Surely  the 
kingdom  of  God  is  come  to  us,  when  our  wedlock,  as 
well  as  our  souls  and  bodies,  is  holy  to  the  Lord.    Is 
that  nothing  ?     How  few  think  of  their  marriage- 
joys  as  holy  things — an  ordinance  of  Christ's  king- 
dom, which  He  delights  in  and  blesses  with  His 
presence  and  His  special  smile,  seeing  that  it  is  the 
noblest  and  the  purest  of  all  things  on  earth — the 
picture  of  the  great  mystery  which  shall  be  the 
bridal  of  all  bridals,  the  marriage  of  Christ  and  His 
Church  !     People  do  not,  nowadays,  believe  in  mar- 
riage as  a  part  of  their  religion ;  and  so,  according 
to  their  want  of  faith  it  happens  to  them ;  their  mar- 
riage is  not  holy,  and  the  love  and  joy  of  their  youth 
wither  into  a  peevish,  careless,  lonely  old  age; — 
and  yet  over  their  heads  these  words  were  said, 
"  They  are  man  and  wife  together,  in  the  Name  of 
the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost !" 
This  comes  of  not  believing  in  Christ's  presence  and 
Christ's  favour ;  of  not  believing,  in  short,  in  what 
the  Creed  truly  calls  the  Holy  Catholic  Church. 
Neither  after  that  does  Christ  leave  us.    Every  time 
a  woman  is  churched,  is  not  that  meant  to  be  a  sign 
of  thankfulness  to  Christ,  the  great  Physician,  to 
whom  she  owes  her  life   and  health    once  more? 
Then,  season   after  season,  is    the    sacrament    of 
Christ's  body  and  blood  offered  you.     Is  that  no 


244  NATIONAL  PRIVILEGES.  [SERM. 

sign  that  Christ  is  here  among  us?  Ah!  blessed 
are  the  eyes  which  see  that,  blessed  are  the  ears 
which  hear  those  words,  "Take,  eat;  this  is  My 
body,  which  is  broken  for  you."  Truly,  if  that  ho- 
nour, that  blessing,  is  so  vast,  the  love  and  the  con- 
descension of  Christ,  the  Lamb  of  God,  so  unuttera- 
ble, that  prophets  and  kings,  whatever  they  believed, 
never  could  have  desired,  never  could  have  imagined, 
that  the  Son  of  God  should  offer  to  the  sons  of 
men,  year  after  year,  in  their  little  parish  churches, 
His  most  precious  body,  His  most  precious  blood. 
And  another  thing,  too,  those  prophets  and  kings 
would  never  have  imagined, — that  when  Christ,  in 
those  churches,  offers  His  body  and  His  blood, 
nine-tenths  of  the  congregation,  calling  themselves 
Christians,  should  quietly  walk  out,  and  go  home, 
and  leave  the  sacraments  of  Christ's  body  and 
Christ's  blood  behind  as  a  useless  and  unnecessary 
matter !  That,  indeed,  the  old  prophets  and  kings 
never  saw,  and  never  expected  to  see — but  so  it  is. 
Christ  is  among  us,  and  our  eyes  are  holden,  and 
we  know  Him  not. 

And  then  at  last,  after  all  these  blessed  privileges, 
these  tokens  of  God's  kingdom,  have  been  neglected 
through  a  long  life,  does  Christ  neglect  us  in  the 
hour  of  death  ?  Ah,  no  !  He  is  at  the  grave  as  He 
was  at  the  font,  at  the  marriage-bed,  at  His  own 
holy  table  in  God's  house;  and  the  body  is  laid  in 
the  ground  by  Christ's  minister  in  the  certain  hope 


XXII.]  NATIONAL  PRIVILEGES.  245 

of  a  joyful  resurrection.  But  what — a  sure  and 
certain  hope  for  each  and  all?  The  resurrection  is 
a  joyful  hope — but  is  it  so  for  all?  Only,  too  often, 
a  faint,  dim  longing  that  clings  to  the  last  chance, 
and  dares  not  confess  to  itself  how  hopeless  must 
be  the  death  of  that  man  or  woman  whose  life  was 
spent  in  the  kingdom  of  God,  in  the  midst  of  bless- 
ings which  kings  and  prophets  desired  in  vain  to 
see,  and  yet  who  neglected  them  all,  never  entered 
into  the  spirit  of  them — never  loved  them — never 
lived  according  to  them,  but  despised  and  trampled 
under  foot  the  kingdom  of  God  from  their  childhood 
to  their  grave,  as  three-fourths  of  us  do.  Christ 
came  to  judge  no  man,  and  therefore  Christ's  mi- 
nisters judge  no  man,  and  read  the  Christian  funeral 
service  over  all,  and  pray  Christ  to  be  there,  and  to 
remember  His  blessed  promise  of  raising  up  the 
body  and  soul  to  everlasting  life.  But  how  can  they 
help  fearing  that  Christ  will  not  hear  them — that 
after  all  His  offers  and  gifts  in  this  life  have  been 
despised,  He  will  give  nothing  after  death  but  death; 
and  that  it  were  better  for  the  sinful,  worldly  sham 
Christian,  when  lying  in  his  coffin,  if  he  had  never 
been  born?  How  can  those  escape  who  neglect  so 
great  salvation? 

Ah,  my  friends — my  friends,  take  this  to  heart! 
Blessed,  indeed,  are  the  eyes  which  see  what  you 
see,  and  hear  what  you  hear ;  prophets  and  kings 
have  desired  to  see  and  hear  them,  and  have  not 


246  NATIONAL  PRIVILEGES.      [SERM.  XXII. 

seen  or  heard  !  But  if  you,  cradled  among  all  these 
despised  honours  and  means  of  grace,  bring  forth 
no  fruit  in  your  lives — shut  out  from  yourselves  the 
thought  of  your  high  calling  in  Jesus  Christ — what 
shall  be  your  end  but  ruin  ?  He  that  despises 
Christ,  Christ  will  despise  him ;  and  say  not  to  your- 
selves, as  many  do,  We  are  church-goers — we  are 
all  safe.  I  say  to  you,  God  is  able  from  among 
the  Negro  and  the  wild  Irishman — ay,  God  is  able 
of  these  stones  to  raise  up  children  to  the  Church  of 
England,  while  those  of  you,  the  children  of  the 
kingdom,  who  lived  in  the  Church  of  your  fathers, 
and  never  used  or  loved  her,  or  Christ,  her  King, 
shall  be  cast  into  outer  darkness,  where  there  shall 
be  weeping  and  gnashing  of  teeth. 


SERMON  XXIII. 


LEXTEN    THOUGHTS. 

"Now,  therefore,  thus  saith  the  Lord  of  Hosts,  Consider  your 
Trays." — Haggai,  i.  5. 

Next  Wednesday  is  Ash- Wednesday,  the  first 
day  of  Lent,  the  season  which  our  forefathers  have 
appointed  for  us  to  consider  and  mend  our  ways, 
and  return,  year  by  year,  heart  and  soul,  to  that 
Lord  and  Heavenly  Father  from  whom  we  are  daily 
wandering.  Now,  we  all  know  that  we  ought  to 
have  repented  long  ago ;  we  all  know  that  sinning 
in  many  things  daily,  as  we  do,  we  ought  all  to 
repent  daily.  But  that  is  not  enough;  we  do  want, 
unless  we  are  wonderfully  better  than  the  holy  men 
of  old — we  do  want,  I  say,  a  particular  time  in  which 
we  may  sit  down  deliberately  and  look  our  own  souls 
steadily  in  the  face,  and  cast  up  our  accounts  with 
God,  and  be  thoroughly  ashamed  and  terrified  at 
those  accounts  when  we  find,  as  we  shall,  that  we 
cannot  answer  God  one  thing  in  a  thousand.  It  is 
all  very  well  to  say,  I  confess  and  repent  of  my  sins 


248  LENTEX  THOUGHTS.  [SERM. 

daily,  why  should  I  do  it  especially  in  Lent?  Very 
true.  Let  us  see,  then,  by  your  altered  life  and 
conduct,  that  you  have  repented  during  this  Lent, 
and  then  it  will  be  time  to  talk  of  repenting  every 
day  after  Lent.  But,  in  fact,  a  man  might  just  as 
well  argue,  I  say  my  prayers  every  day,  and  God 
hears  them,  why  should  I  say  them  more  on  Sundays 
than  any  other  day?  Why?  not  only  because  your 
forefathers,  and  the  Church  of  your  forefathers,  have 
advised  you,  which,  though  not  an  imperative  reason, 
is  still  a  strong  one,  surely,  but  because  the  thing 
is  good,  and  reasonable,  and  right  in  itself.  Because, 
as  they  found  in  their  own  case,  and  as  you  may  find 
in  yours,  if  you  will  but  think,  the  hurry  and  bustle 
of  business  is  daily  putting  repentance  and  self- 
examination  out  of  our  heads.  A  man  may  think 
much,  and  pray  much,  thank  God,  in  the  very  midst 
of  his  busiest  work,  but  he  is  apt  to  be  hurried;  he 
has' not  set  his  thoughts  especially  on  the  matters  of 
his  soul,  and  so  the  soul's  work  is  not  thoroughly 
done.  Much  for  which  he  ought  to  pray  he  forgets 
to  pray  for.  Many  sins  and  feelings  of  which  he 
ought  to  repent,  slip  past  him  out  of  sight  in  the 
hurry  of  life.  Much  good  that  might  be  done  is 
put  off  and  laid  by,  often  till  it  is  too  late.  But 
now  here  is  a  regular  season  in  which  wre  may  look 
back  and  say  to  ourselves,  "How  have  I  been 
getting  on  for  this  twelvemonth,  not  in  pocket, 
but  in  character?  not  in  the  appearance  of  character 


XXIII.]  LENTEN  THOUGHTS.  249 

in  my  neighbour's  eyes,  but  in  real  character — in 
the  eyes  of  God?  Am  I  more  manly,  or  more  wo- 
manly— more  godly,  more  true,  more  humble — above 
all,  more  loving,  than  I  was  this  time  last  year? 
What  bad  habits  have  I  conquered?  What  good 
habits  have  grown  upon  me  ?  What  chances  of  doing 
good  have  I  let  slip?  What  foolish,  unkind  things 
have  I  done?  My  duty  to  God  and  my  neighbours 
is  so  and  so;  how  have  I  done  it?  Above  all,  this 
Saviour  and  King  in  heaven,  in  whom  I  profess  to 
believe,  to  whom  I  have  sworn  to  be  loyal  and  true, 
and  to  help  his  good  cause,  the  cause  of  godliness, 
manliness,  and  happiness  among  my  neighbours,  in 
my  family,  in  my  own  heart, — how  have  I  felt  to- 
wards Him  ?  Have  I  thought  about  Him  more  this 
year  than  I  did  last?  Do  I  feel  any  more  loyalty, 
respect,  love,  gratitude  to  Him  than  I  did?  Ay, 
more,  do  I  think  about  Him  at  all  as  a  living  man, 
much  less  as  my  King  and  Saviour;  or,  is  all  I 
really  know  about  Him  the  sound  of  the  words 
Jesus  Christ,  and  the  story  about  Him  in  the 
Apostles'  Creed?  Do  I  really  believe  and  trust  in 
" Jesus  Christ,"  or  do  I  not?  These  are  sharp, 
searching  questions,  my  friends, — good  Lenten  food 
for  any  man's  soul, — questions  which  it  is  much 
more  easy  to  ask  soberly  and  answer  fairly  now,  when 
you  look  quietly  back  on  the  past  year,  than  it  is, 
alas  !  to  answer  them  day  by  day  amid  all  the  bustle 
of  your  business  and  your  families.  But  you  will 
22 


250  U5NTBH  THOUGHTS.  [SERM. 

answer,  "This  bustle  will  go  on  just  as  much  in 
Lent  as  ever.  Our  time  and  thoughts  will  be  just  as 
much  occupied.  We  have  our  livings  to  get.  We 
are  not  fine  gentlemen  and  ladies  who  can  lie  bj  for 
forty  days  and  do  nothing  but  read  and  pray,  while 
their  tradesmen  and  servants  are  working  for  them 
from  morning  to  night.  How  then  can  wre  give  up 
more  time  to  religion  now  than  at  other  times?" 

This  is  all  true  enough;  but  there  is  a  sound  and 
true  answer  to  it.  It  is  not  so  much  more  time  which 
you  are  asked  to  give  up  to  your  souls  in  Lent,  as  it 
is  more  heart.  What  do  I  talk  of?  Giving  up  more 
time  to  your  souls  ?  And  yet  this  is  the  way  we  all 
talk,  as  if  our  time  belonged  to  our  bodies,  and  so  we 
had  to  rob  them  of  it,  to  give  it  up  to  our  souls, — as  if 
our  bodies  were  ourselves,  and  our  souls  were  trouble- 
some burdens,  or  peevish  children  hanging  at  our 
backs,  which  would  keep  prating  and  fretting  about 
heaven  and  hell,  and  had  to  be  quieted,  and  their 
mouths  stopped  as  quickly  and  easily  as  possible,  that 
we  might  be  rid  of  them,  and  get  about  our  true  busi- 
ness, our  real  duty, — this  mighty  work  of  eating  and 
drinking,  and  amusing  ourselves,  and  making  money. 
I  am  afraid — afraid  there  are  too  many,  who,  if  they 
spoke  out  their  whole  hearts,  would  be  quite  as  content 
to  have  no  souls,  and  no  necessity  to  waste  their  pre- 
cious time  (as  they  think)  upon  religion.  But,  my 
friends,  my  friends,  the  day  will  come  when  you  will 
see  yourselves  in  a  true  light;  when  your  soul  will 


XXIII.]  LEXTEN  THOUGHTS.  251 

not  seem  a  mere  hanger-on  to  your  body,  but  you  will 
find  out  that  you  are.  your  soul.  Then  there  will  be  no 
more  forgetting  that  you  have  souls,  and  thrusting 
them  into  the  background,  to  be  fed  at  odd  minutes,  or 
left  to  starve, — no  more  talk  of  giving  up  time  to  the 
care  of  your  souls ;  your  souls  will  take  the  time  for 
themselves  then — and  the  eternity,  too;  they  will  be 
all  in  all  to  you  then,  perhaps,  when  it  is  too  late! 
Well,  I  want  you,  just  for  forty  days,  to  let  your 
souls  be  all  in  all  to  you  now ;  to  make  them  your 
first  object  —  your  first  thought  in  the  morning, 
the  last  thing  at  night, — your  thought  at  every  odd 
moment  in  the  day.  You  need  not  neglect  your 
business ;  only  for  one  short  forty  clays  do  not  make 
your  business  your  god.  We  are  all  too  apt  to  try 
the  heathen  plan,  of  seeking  first  every  thing  else  in 
the  world,  and  letting  the  kingdom  of  God  and  His 
righteousness  be  added  to  us  over  and  above — or  not 
added,  as  it  may  happen.  Try  for  once  the  plan 
the  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth  advises,  and  seek  first 
the  kingdom  of  God  and  His  righteousness,  and  see 
whether  every  thing  else  will  not  be  added  to  you. 
Again,  you  need  not  be  idle  a  moment  more  in 
Lent  than  at  any  other  time.  But  I  dare  say,  that 
none  of  you  are  so  full  of  business  that  you  have  not 
a  free  ten  minutes  in  the  morning,  and  ten  minutes 
at  night,  of  which  the  best  of  uses  may  be  made. 
What  do  I  say?  Why,  of  all  men  in  the  world, 
farmers  and  labourers  have  most  time,  I  think,  to 


252  LEXTEX  THOUGHTS.  [SERM. 

themselves ;  working  as  they  do,  the  greater  part  of 
their  day  in  silence  and  alone;  what  opportunities  for 
them  to  have  their  souls  busy  in  heaven,  while  they 
are  pacing  over  the  fields,  ploughing  and  hoeing !  I 
have  read  of  many,  many  labouring  men  who  had 
found  out  their  opportunities  in  this  way,  and  used 
them  so  well  as  to  become  holy,  great  and  learned 
men.  One  of  the  most  learned  scholars  in  England 
at  this  day  was  once  a  village  carpenter,  who  used, 
when  young,  to  keep  a  book  open  before  him  on  his 
bench  while  he  worked,  and  thus  contrived  to  teach 
himself,  one  after  the  other,  Latin,  Greek,  and  He- 
brew. So  much  time  may  a  man  find  who  looks  for 
time ! 

But  after  all,  and  above  all,  believe  this — that  if 
your  business  or  your  work  does  actually  give  you 
no  time  to  think  about  God  and  your  own  souls, — if 
in  the  midst  of  it  all  you  cannot  find  leisure  enough 
night  and  morning  to  pray  earnestly,  to  read  your 
Bible  carefully, — if  it  so  swallows  up  your  whole 
thoughts  during  the  day,  that  you  have  no  oppor- 
tunity to  recollect  yourself,  to  remember  that  you  are 
an  immortal  being,  and  that  you  have  a  Saviour  in 
heaven,  whom  you  are  serving  faithfully,  or  unfaith- 
fully,— if  this  work  or  business  of  yours  will  not  give 
you  time  enough  for  that,  then  it  is  not  God's  busi- 
ness, and  ought  not  to  be  yours  either. 

But  you  have  time, — you  have  all  time.  When 
there  is  a  will  there  is  a  way.  Make  up  your  minds 
that  there  shall  be  a  will,  and  pray  earnestly  to  God 


XXIII.]  LENTEN  THOUGHTS.  253 

to  give  it  to  you,  if  it  is  but  for  forty  days:  and  in 
them  think  seriously,  slowly,  solemnly,  over  your 
past  lives.  Examine  yourselves  and  your  doings. 
Ask  yourselves  fairly,  'Am  I  going  forward  or  back? 
Am  I  living  like  a  child  of  God,  or  like  a  mere  ma- 
chine for  making  food  and  wages  ?  Is  my  conduct 
such  as  the  Holy  Scriptures  tell  me  that  it  should 
be?'  You  will  not  need  to  go  far  for  a  set  of  ques- 
tions, my  friends,  or  rules  by  which  to  examine 
yourselves.  You  can  hardly  open  a  page  of  God's 
blessed  Book  without  finding  something  which  stares 
you  in  the  face  with  the  question,  'Do  I  do  thus?' 
or,  'Do  I  not  do  thus?'  Take,  for  example,  the 
Epistle  of  this  very  day.  What  better  test  can  we 
have  for  trying  and  weighing  our  own  souls  ? 

What  says  it  ?  That  though  we  were  wise,  chari- 
table, eloquent — all  that  the  greatest  of  men  can  be, 
and  yet  had  not  charity — love,  we  are  nothing  ! — 
nothing !  And  how  does  it  describe  this  necessary, 
indispensable,  heavenly  love  ?  Let  us  spend  the  last 
few  minutes  of  this  sermon  in  seeing  how.  And  if 
that  description  does  not  prick  all  our  hearts  on 
more  points  than  one,  they  are  harder  than  I  take 
them  for;  far  harder,  certainly,  than  they  should  be. 

This  charity,  or  love,  we  hear,  which  each  of  us 
ought  to  have  and  must  have,  'suffers  long,  and  is 
kind.'  What  shall  we  say  to  that?  How  many  hasty, 
revengeful  thoughts  and  feelings  have  risen  in  the 
hearts  of  most  of  us  in  the  last  year?  Here  is  one 
22* 


254  LENTEN  THOUGHTS.  [SERM. 

thought  for  Lent:  "Charity  envies  not."  Have 
we  envied  any  their  riches,  their  happiness,  their 
good  name,  health,  and  youth  ?  Another  thought 
for  Lent:  "Charity  boasts  not  herself."  Alas!  alas! 
my  friends,  are  not  the  best  of  us  apt  to  make  much 
of  the  little  good  we  do, — to  pride  ourselves  on  the 
petty  kindnesses  we  show, — to  be  puffed  up  with 
easy  self-satisfaction,  just  as  charity  is  not  puffed  up? 
Another  Lenten  thought :  "  Charity  does  not  behave 
herself  unseemly;"  is  never  proud,  noisy,  conceited; 
gives  every  man's  opinion  a  fair,  kindly  hearing; 
making  allowances  for  all  mistakes.  Have  we  done 
so? — Then  there  is  another  thought  for  Lent: 
"Charity  seeks  not  her  own ;"  does  not  stand  fiercely 
and  stiffly  on  her  own  rights,  on  the  gratitude  due 
to  her.  While  we — are  we  not  too  apt,  when  we 
have  done  a  kindness,  to  fret  and  fume,  and  think 
ourselves  deeply  injured,  if  we  do  not  get  repaid  at 
once  with  all  the  humble  gratitude  we  expected  ?  Of 
this,  also,  we  must  think:  "  Charity  thinks  no  evil," 
sets  down  no  bad  motives  for  any  one's  conduct,  but 
takes  for  granted  that  he  means  well,  whatever  ap- 
pearances may  be;  while  we  (I  speak  of  myself  just 
as  much  as  of  any  one,)  are  we  not  continually  apt 
to  be  suspicious,  jealous,  to  take  for  granted  that 
people  mean  harm ;  and  even  when  we  find  ourselves 
mistaken,  and  that  we  have  cried  out  before  we  are 
hurt,  not  to  consider  it  as  any  sin  against  our  neigh- 
bour, whom  in  reality  we  have  been  silently  slander- 


XXIII.]  LENTEN  THOUGHTS.  255 

ingto  ourselves?  "  Charity  rejoices  not  in  iniquity," 
but  in  the  truth,  -whatever  it  may  be;  is  never  glad 
to' see  a  high  professor  prove  a  hypocrite,  and  fall 
into  sin,  and  show  himself  in  his  true  foul  colours; 
which  we,  alas !  are  too  apt  to  think  a  very  pleasant 
sisdit.  Are  not  these  wholesome  meditations  for 
Lent?  "Charity  hopes  all  things"  of  every  one, 
"believes  all  things,"  all  good  that  is  told  of  every 
one,  "endures  all  things,"  instead  of  flying  off  and 
giving  up  a  person  at  the  first  fault.  Are  not  all 
these  points,  which  our  own  hearts,  consciences, 
common  sense,  or  whatever  you  like  to  call  it  (I 
shall  call  it  God's  Spirit,)  tell  us  are  right,  true, 
necessary  ?  And  is  there  one  of  us  who  can  say  that 
he  has  not  offended  in  many,  if  not  in  all  these 
points;  and  is  not  that  unrighteousness — going  out 
of  the  right  straightforward,  childlike,  loving  way  of 
looking  at  all  people  ?  And  is  not  all  unrighteous- 
ness sin?  And  must  not  all  sin  be  repented  of,  and 
that  as  soon  as  toe  find  it  out?  And  can  we  not  all 
find  time  this  Lent  to  throw  over  these  sins  of  ours  ? 
— to  confess  them  with  shame  and  sorrow? — to  try 
like  men  to  shake  them  off?  Oh,  my  friends  !  you 
who  are  too  busy  for  forty  short  days  to  make  your 
immortal  souls  your  first  business,  take  care — take 
care,  lest  the  day  shall  come  when  sickness,  and 
pain,  and  the  terror  of  death,  shall  keep  you  too 
busy  to  prepare  those  unrepenting,  unforgiven,  sin- 
besotted  souls  of  yours  for  the  kingdom  of  God. 


SERMON   XXIV 


OX  BOOKS. 

"In  the  beginning  was  the  Word,  and  the  Word  was  with  God, 
and  the  Word  was  God." — John,  i.  1. 

1  do  not  pretend  to  be  able  to  explain  this  text 
to  you,  for  no  man  can  comprehend  it  but  He  of 
whom  it  speaks,  Jesus  Christ,  the  Word  of  God. 
But  I  can,  by  God's  grace,  put  before  you  some  of 
the  awful  and  glorious  truths  of  which  it  gives  us  a 
sight,  and  may  Christ  direct  you,  who  is  the  Word, 
and  grant  me  words  to  bring  the  matter  home  to 
you,  so  as  to  make  some  of  you,  at  least,  ask  your- 
selves the  golden  question,  "If  this  is  true,  what 
must  we  do  to  be  saved  ? " 

The  text  says  that  the  Word  was  from  the  begin- 
ning with  God, — ay,  God  Himself:  who  the  Word  is, 
there  is  no  doubt  from  the  rest  of  the  chapter, 
which  you  heard  read  this  morning.  But  why  is 
Christ  called  the  Word  of  all  words — the  Word  of 
God?  Let  us  look  at  this.  Is  not  Christ  the  man, 
the  head  and  pattern  of  all  men  who  are  what  men 


SERM.  XXIV.]  ON  BOOKS.  257 

ought  to  be?  And  did  He  not  tell  men  that  He  is 
the  Life?  That  all  life  is  given  by  Him  and  out  of 
Him?  And  does  not  St.  John  tell  us  that  Christ  the 
Life  is  the  light  of  men,  —  the  true  light  which 
lighteth  every  man  who  cometh  into  the  world? 

Remember  this,  and  then  think  again, — what  is 
it  which  makes  men  different  from  all  other  living 
things  we  know  of?  Is  it  not  speech — the  power 
of  words  ?  The  beasts  may  make  each  other  under- 
stand many  things,  but  they  have  no  speech.  These 
glorious  things — words — are  man's  right  alone,  part 
of  the  image  of  the  Son  of  God — the  Word  of  God, 
in  which  man  was  created.  If  men  would  but  think 
what  a  noble  thing  it  is  merely  to  be  able  to  speak 
in  words,  to  think  in  words,  to  write  in  words  ! 
Without  words,  we  should  know  no  more  of  each 
other's  hearts  and  thoughts  than  the  dog  knows  of 
his  fellow  dog, — without  words  to  think  in  ;  for  if 
you  will  consider,  you  always  think  to  yourself  in 
tvords,  though  you  do  not  speak  them  aloud;  and 
without  them  all  our  thoughts  would  be  mere  blind 
longings,  feelings- which  we  could  not  understand 
our  own  selves.  Without  words  to  write  in,  we 
could  not  know  what  our  forefathers  did; — we  could 
not  let  our  children  after  us  know  what  to  do. 
But,  now.  books — the  written  word  of  man — are 
precious  heir-looms  from  one  generation  to  another, 
training  us,  encouraging  us,  teaching  us,  by  the 
words  and  thoughts  of  men,  whose  bodies  are  crum- 


258  ON  BOOKS.  [SERM. 

bled  into  dust  ages  ago,  but  whose  words — the  power 
of  uttering  themselves,  which  they  got  from  the  Son 
of  God — still  live,  and  bear  fruit  in  our  hearts,  and 
in  the  hearts  of  our  children  after  us,  till  the  last 
day. 

But  where  did  these  words— this  power  of  uttering 
our  thoughts,  come  from?  Do  you  fancy  that  men 
first  began,  like  brute  beasts  or  babies,  with  strange 
cries  and  mutterings,  and  so  gradually  found  out 
words  for  themselves?  Not  they;  the  beasts  have 
been  on  the  earth  as  long  as  man;  and  yet  they  can 
no  more  speak  than  they  could  when  God  created 
Adam:  but  Adam,  we  find,  could  speak  at  once. 
God  spoke  to  Adam  the  moment  he  was  made,  and 
Adam  understood  Him;  so  he  knew  the  power  and 
the  meaning  of  words.  Who  gave  him  that  power? 
Who  but  Jehovah — Jesus — the  Word  of  ~God,  who 
imparted  to  him  the  word  of  speech  and  the  light  of 
reason  ?  Without  them  what  use  would  there  have 
been  in  saying  to  him,  "Thou  shalt  not  eat  of  the 
tree  of  knowledge?"  Without  them  what  would 
there  have  been  in  God's  bringing  to  him  all  the 
animals  to  see  what  he  would  call  them,  unless  He 
had  first  given  Adam  the  power  of  understanding 
words  and  thinking  of  words,  and  speaking  words? 
This. was  the  glorious  gift  of  Christ — the  Voice 
or  Word  of  the  Lord  God,  as  we  read  in  the  second 
chapter  of  Genesis,  whom  Adam  heard  another  time 
with  fear  and  terror,  "  The  voice  of  the  Lord  walking 


XXL V.]  ON  BOO!,.-.  259 

in  the  garden  in  the  cool  of  the  day." — A  text  and 
a  story  strange  enough,  till  we  find  in  the  first  chap- 
ter of  St.  John  the  explanation  of  it,  telling  us  that 
the  "Word  was  in  the  beginning  with  God — very 
God,  and  that  He  was  the  light  which  lighteth  every 
man  who  cometh  into  the  world.  So  Christ  is  the 
light  which  lighteth  every  man  who  cometh  into  the 
world.  How  are  we  to  understand  that,  when  there 
are  so  many  who  live  and  die  heathens  or  repro- 
bates,— some  who  never  hear  of  Christ, — some,  alas ! 
in  Christian  lands,  who  are  dead  to  every  doctrine 
or  motive  of  Christianity  ?  yet  the  Bible  says  that 
Christ  lights  every  man  who  comes  into  the  world. 
Difficult  to  understand  at  first  sight,  yet  most  true, 
and  simple,  too,  at  bottom. 

For  how  is  every  one,  whether  heathen  or  Chris- 
tian, child  or  man,  enlightened  or  taught  to  live 
and  behave?  Is  it  not  by  the  words  of  those  round 
him,  by  the  words  he  reads  in  books,  by  the  thoughts 
which  he  thinks  out  and  puts  into  shape  for  him- 
self? All  this  is  the  light  which  every  human  be- 
ing has  his  share  of.  And  has  not  every  man,  too, 
the  light  of  reason  and  good  feeling,  more  or  less, 
to  tell  him  whether  each  thing  is  right  or  wrong,  no- 
ble or  mean,  ugly  or  beautiful?  This  is  another  way 
by  which  the  light  which  lighteth  every  man  works. 
And  St.  John  tells  us  in  the  text,  that  he  who  works 
in  this  way, — he  who  gives  us  the  power  of  under- 
standing, and  thinking,  and  judging,  and  speaking, 


260  ON  BOOKS.  [SERM. 

is  the  very  same  Word  of  God  who  was  made  flesh, 
and  dwelt  among  men,  and  died  on  the  cross  for 
us  ;  "the  Lamb  of  God,  who  taketh  away  the  sins 
of  the  world!" 

He  is  the  Word  of  God — by  Him  God  has  spoken 
to  man  in  all  ages.  He  taught  Adam, — He  spoke  to 
Abraham  as  a  man  speaketh  with  his  friend.  It 
was  He,  Jehovah,  whom  we  call  Jesus,  whom  Moses 
and  the  seventy  elders  saw — saw  with  their  bodily 
eyes  on  Mount  Sinai,  who  spoke  to  them  with 
human  voice  from  amid  the  lightning  and  the 
rainbow.  It  must  have  been  only  He,  the  Word, 
by  whom  God  the  Father  utters  himself  to  man, 
for  no  man  hath  seen  God  at  any  time ;  only  the 
Word,  the  only-begotton  Son,  who  is  in  the  bosom 
of  the  Father,  He  hath  declared  him.  And  who  put 
into  the  mouth  of  David  those  glorious  Psalms — 
the  songs  in  which  all  true  men  for  three  thousand 
years  have  found  the  very  things  they  longed  to 
speak  themselves  and  could  not?  Who  but  Christ 
the  Word  of  God,  the  Lord,  as  David  calls  him, 
put  a  new  song  into  the  mouth  of  His  holy  poet, 
— the  sweet  singer  of  Israel?  Who  spake  by  the 
prophets,  again?  What  do  they  say  themselves? — 
"The  Word  of  the  Lord  came  to  me,  saying."  And 
then,  when  the  Spirit  of  God  stirred  them  up,  the 
Word  of  God  gave  them  speech,  and  they  said  the  say- 
ings which  shall  never  pass  away  till  all  be  fulfilled. 
And  who  was  it  who,  when  He  was  upon  earth, 


XXIV.]  OX  BOOKS.  261 

spake  as  never  man  spake — whose  words  were  the 
simplest,  and  yet  the  deepest — the  tenderest,  and 
yet  the  most  awful  which  ever  broke  the  blessed  si- 
lence upon  this  earth — whose  words  now  to  this  day 
come  home  to  men's  hearts,  stirring  them  up  to  the 
very  roots,  piercing  through  the  marrow  of  men's 
souls — whose  but  Christ's,  the  Word,  who  was  made 
flesh  and  dwelt  among  us,  full  of  grace  and  truth  ? 
And  who  since  then,  do  you  think,  has  it  been  who 
has  given  to  all  wise  and  holy  poets,  philosophers, 
and  preachers,  the  power  to  speak  and  write  the 
wonderful  truths  which,  by  God's  grace,  they 
thought  out  for  themselves  and  for  all  mankind  ? 
Who  gave  them  utterance — who  but  Christ,  the 
Lord  of  men's  spirits — the  Word  of  God,  who  pro- 
mised to  give  to  all  His  true  disciples  a  mouth  and 
wisdom  which  their  enemies  should  not  be  able  to 
gainsay  or  resist. 

Well,  my  friends,  ought  not  the  knowledge  of 
this  to  make  us  better  and  wiser?  Ought  it  not  to 
make  us  esteem,  and  reverence,  and  use  many  things 
of  which  we  are  apt  to  think  too  lightly?  How  it 
should  make  us  reverence  the  Bible,  the  written 
wrordof  God's  saints  and  prophets,  of  God's  apostles, 
of  Christ,  the  Word  himself?  Oh,  that  men  would 
use  that  treasure  of  the  Bible  as  it  deserves: — oh, 
that  they  would  believe  from  their  hearts,  that  what- 
ever is  said  there  is  truly  said,  that  whatever  is  said 
there  is  said  to  them,  that  whatever  names  things 
23 


262  ON  BOOKS.  [SERM. 

are  called  there  are  called  by  their  right  names. 
Then  men  would  no  longer  call  the  vile  person  boun- 
tiful, or  call  pride  and  vanity  honour,  or  covetous- 
ness  respectability,  or  call  sin  worldly  wisdom;  but 
they  would  call  things  as  Christ  calls  them — they 
would  try  to  copy  Christ's  thoughts  and  Christ's 
teaching ;  and  instead  of  looking  for  instruction  and 
comfort  to  lying  opinions  and  false  worldly  cunning, 
they  would  find  their  only  advice  in  the  blessed 
teaching,  and  their  only  comfort  in  the  gracious 
promises  of  the  word  of  the  Book  of  Life. 

Again,  how  these  thoughts  ought  to  make  us 
reverence  all  books.  Consider!  except  a  living 
man,  there  is  nothing  more  wonderful  than  a  book ! 
— a  message  to  us  from  the  dead — from  human 
souls  whom  we  never  saw,  wrho  lived,  perhaps,  thou- 
sands of  miles  away;  and  yet  these,  in  those  little 
sheets  of  paper,  speak  to  us,  amuse  us,  terrify  us, 
teach  us,  comfort  us,  open  their  hearts  to  us  as 
brothers. 

Why  is  it  that  neither  angels,  nor  saints,  nor  evil 
spirits,  appear  to  men  now  to  speak  to  them  as  they 
did  of  old  ?  Why,  but  because  we  have  hooks,  by 
which  Christ's  messengers,  and  the  devil's  messen- 
gers too,  can  tell  what  they  will  to  thousands  of 
human  beings  at  the  same  moment,  year  after  year, 
all  the  world  over !  I  say,  we  ought  to  reverence 
books,  to  look  at  them  as  awful  and  mighty  things. 
If  they  are  good  and  true,  whether  they  are  about 


XXIV.]  OX  BOOKS.  263 

religion  or  politics,  farming,  trade,  or  medicine,  they 
are  the  message  of  Christ,  the  Maker  of  all  things, 
the  Teacher  of  all  truth,  which  he  has  put  into  the 
heart  of  some  man  to  speak,  that  he  may  tell  us 
what  is  good  for  our  spirits,  for  our  bodies,  and  for 
our  conn  try  J 

And  at  the  last  day,  be  sure  of  it,  we  shall  have 
to  render  an  account — a  strict  account,  of  the  books 
which  we  have  read,  and  of  the  way  in  which  we 
have  obeyed  what  we  read,  just  as  if  we  had  had  so 
many  prophets  or  angels  sent  to  us. 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  books  are  false  and  wicked, 
we  ought  to  fear  them  as  evil  spirits  loose  among  us, 
as  messages  from  the  father  of  lies,  who  deceives  the 
hearts  of  evil  men,  that  they  may  spread  abroad 
the  poison  of  his  false  and  foul  messages,  putting 
good  for  evil,  and  evil  for  good,  sweet  for  bitter,  and 
bitter  for  sweet,  saying  to  all  men,  "I,  too,  have  a 
tree  of  knowledge,  and  you  may  eat  of  the  fruit 
thereof,  and  not  die."  But  believe  him  not.  Y\Then 
you  see  a  wicked  book,  when  you  find  in  a  book  any 
thing  which  contradicts  God's  book,  cast  it  away, 
trample  it  under  foot,  believe  that  it  is  the  devil 
tempting  you  by  his  cunning,  alluring  words,  as  he 
tempted  Eve,  your  mother.  Would  to  God  all  here 
would  make  that  a  rule,  never  to  look  into  an  evil 
book,  a  filthy  ballad,  a  nonsensical,  frivolous  story ! 
Can  a  man  take  a  snake  into  his  bosom  and  not  be 
bitten?  Can  we  play  with  fire,  and  not  be  burnt?  Can 


264  OX  BOOKS.  [SERM. 

we  open  our  ears  and  eyes  to  the  devil's  message, 
whether  of  covetousness,  or  filth,  or  folly,  and  not 
be  haunted  afterwards  by  its  wicked  words,  rising  up 
in  our  thoughts  like  evil  spirits,  between  us  and  our 
pure  and  noble  duty — our  baptismal  vows? 

I  might  say  much  more  about  these  things,  and, 
by  God's  help,  in  another  sermon  I  will  go  on,  and 
speak  to  you  of  the  awful  importance  of  spoken 
words,  of  the  sermons  and  the  conversation  to  which 
you  listen,  the  awful  importance  of  every  word  which 
comes  out  of  your  own  mouth.  But  I  have  spoken 
only  of  books  this  morning,  for  this  is  the  age  of 
books,  the  time,  one  would  think,  of  which  Daniel  pro- 
phesied, that  many  should  run  to  and  fro,  and  know- 
ledge should  be  increased.  A  flood  of  books,  news- 
papers, writings  of  all  sorts,  good  and  bad,  is  spread- 
ing over  the  whole  land,  and  young  and  old  will  read 
them.  We  cannot  stop  that,  we  ought  not :  it  is  God's 
ordinance.  It  is  more :  it  is  God's  grace  and  mercy, 
that  we  have  a  free  press  in  England — liberty  for 
every  man,  that  if  he  have  any  of  God's  truth  to  tell 
he  may  tell  it  out  boldly,  in  books  or  otherwise.  A 
blessing  from  God  !  one  which  we  should  reverence, 
for  God  knows  it  was  dearly  bought.  Before  our 
forefathers  could  buy  it  for  us,  many  an  honoured 
man  left  house  and  home  to  die  in  the  battle-field 
or  on  the  scaffold,  fighting  and  witnessing  for  the 
right  of  every  man  to  whom  God's  Word  comes,  to 
speak  God's  Word  openly  to  his  countrymen.     A 


XXIV.]  ON  BOOKS.  265 

blessing,  and  an  awful  one !  for  the  same  gate  which 
lets  in  good  lets  in  evil.  The  law  dare  not  silence 
bad  books.  It  dare  not  root  up  the  tares  lest  it 
root  up  the  wheat  also.  The  men  who  died  to  buy 
us  liberty  knew  that  it  was  better  to  let  in  a  thousand 
bad  books  than  shut  out  one  good  one ;  for  a  grain  of 
God's  truth  will  ever  outweigh  a  ton  of  the  devil's  lies. 
We  cannot  then  silence  evil  books,  but  we  can  turn 
away  our  eyes  from  them — we  can  take  care  that 
what  we  read,  and  what  we  let  others  read,  shall  be 
good  and  wholesome.  Now,  if  ever,  are  we  bound 
to  remember  that  books  are  words,  and  that  words 
come  either  from  Christ  or  the  devil, — now,  if  ever, 
we  are  bound  to  try  all  books  by  the  Word  of  God, 
— now,  if  ever,  are  we  bound  to  put  holy  and  wise 
books,  both  religious  and  worldly,  into  the  hands  of 
all  around  us,  that  if,  poor  souls!  they  must  need 
eat  of  the  fruit  of  the  tree  of  knowledge,  they  may 
also  eat  of  the  tree  of  life, — and  now,  if  ever,  are 
we  bound  to  pray  to  Christ  the  Word  of  God,  that 
He  will  raise  up  among  us  wise  and  holy  writers, 
and  give  them  words  and  utterance,  to  speak  to  the 
hearts  of  all  Englishmen  the  message  of  God's  cove- 
nant, and  that  he  may  confound  the  devil  and  his 
lies,  and  all  that  swarm  of  vile  writers  who  are  filling 
England  with  trash,  filth,  blasphemy,  and  covct- 
ousness,  with  books  which  teach  men  that  our 
wise  forefathers,  who  built  our  churches  and  founded 
our  constitution,  and  made  England  the  queen  of 
23* 


266  ON  BOOKS.  [SERM.  XXIV. 

nations,  were  but  ignorant  knaves  and  fanatics,  and 
that  selfish  money-making  and  godless  licentiousness 
are  the  only  true  wisdom:  and  so  turn  the  divine 
power  of  words,  and  the  inestimable  blessing  of  a 
free  press,  into  the  devil's  engine,  and  not  Christ's 
the  Word  of  God.  But  their  words  shall  be  brought 
to  naught. 

Ma}7  God  preserve  us  and  all  our  friends  from  that 
defilement,  and  may  He  give  you  all  grace,  in  these 
strange  times,  to  take  care  what  you  read  and  how 
you  read,  and  to  hold  fast  by  the  Book  of  all  books, 
and  Christ  the  Word  of  God.  Try  by  them  all 
books  and  men ;  for  if  they  speak  not  according  to 
God's  law  and  testimony,  it  is  because  there  is  no 
truth  in  them. 


SERMON  XXV. 


THE  COURAGE  OF  THE  SAVIOUR. 

"  Then  after  that  saith  he  to  his  disciples,  Let  us  go  into  Judea 
again.  His  disciples  say  to  hira,  Master,  the  Jews  of  late 
sought  to  stone  thee,  and  goest  thou  thither  again?" — John, 
xi.  7,  8. 

"We  all  admire  a  brave  man.  And  we  are  right. 
To  be  brave  is  God's  gift.  To  be  brave  is  to  be 
like  Jesus  Christ.  Cowardice  is  only  the  devil's 
likeness.  But  we  must  take  care  what  we  mean  by 
being  brave.  Now,  there  are  two  sorts  of  bravery, 
courage  and  fortitude.  And  they  are  very  different  : 
courage  is  of  the  flesh — fortitude  is  of  the  spirit. 
Courage  is  good,  but  dumb  animals  have  it  just  as 
much  as  we.  A  dog,  a  tiger,  and  a  horse,  have 
courage,  but  they  have  no  fortitude — because  forti- 
tude is  a  spiritual  thing,  and  beasts  have  no  spirits 
like  ours. 

"What  is  fortitude?  It  is  the  courage  which  will 
make  us  not  only  fight  in  a  good  cause,  but  suffer  in 
a  good  cause.  Courage  will  help  us  only  to  give 
others  pain ;  fortitude  will  help  us  to  bear  pain  our- 


268  THE  COURAGE  OF  THE  SAVIOUR.         [SERM. 

selves.  And  more,  fortitude  will  make  a  fearful  per- 
son brave,  and  very  often  the  more  brave  the  more 
fearful  they  are.  And  thus  it  is  that  women  are 
so  often  braver  than  men.  We,  men,  are  made  of 
coarser  stuff;  we  do  not  feel  pain  as  keenly  as  wo- 
men; and  if  we  do  feel,  we  are  rightly  ashamed  to 
show  it.  But  a  tender  woman,  who  feels  pain  and 
sorrow  infinitely  more  than  we  do,  who  need  not  be 
ashamed  of  being  frightened,  who  perhaps  is  ter- 
rified at  every  mouse  and  spider — to  see  her  bearing 
patiently  pain,  and  sorrow,  and  shame,  in  spite  of  all 
her  fearfulness,  because  she  knows  it  is  her  dutv — 
that  is  Christ's  likeness — that  is  true  fortitude — that 
is  a  sight  nobler  than  all  the  "bull-dog  courage  "  in 
the  world.  For  what  is  the  courage  of  the  bull-dog 
after  all,  or  of  the  strong  quarrelsome  man  ?  He  is 
confident  in  his  own  strength,  he  is  rough  and  hard, 
and  does  not  care  for  pain;  and  when  he  thrusts  his 
head  into  a  fight,  like  a  surly  dog,  he  does  it,  not 
because  it  is  his  duty,  but  because  he  likes  it,  be- 
cause he  is  angry,  and  then  every  blow  and  every 
wound  makes  him  more  angry,  and  he  fights  on, 
forgetting  his  pain  from  blind  rage. 

That  is  not  altogether  bad;  men  ought  to  be 
courageous.  But,  oh!  my  friends,  is  there  not  a 
m'ore  excellent  way  to  be  brave  ?  and  which  is  nobler, 
to  suffer  bravely  for  God's  sake,  or  to  beat  men 
made  in  God's  image  bravely  for  one's  own  sake? 
Think  of  any  fight  you  ever  saw,  and  then  compare 


XXV.]  THE  COURAGE  OF  THE  SAVIOUR.  269 

with  that  the  stories  of  those  old  martyrs  who  died 
rather  than  speak  a  word  against  their  Saviour.  If 
you  want  to  see  true  fortitude,  think  of  what  has 
happened  thousands  of  times  when  the  heathen  used 
to  persecute  the  Christians.  How  delicate  women, 
who  would  not  venture  to  set  the  sole  of  their  foot 
to  the  ground  for  tenderness,  would  submit,  rather 
than  give  up  their  religion  and  deny  the  Lord  who 
died  for  them,  to  be  torn  from  husband  and  family, 
and  endure  nakedness,  and  insult,  and  tortures  which 
make  one's  blood  run  cold  to  read  of,  till  they  were 
torn  slowly  piecemeal,  or  roasted  in  burning  flames, 
without  a  murmur  or  an  angry  word, — knowing  that 
Christ,  who  had  borne  all  things  for  them,  would  give 
them  strength  to  bear  all  things  for  Him,  trusting 
that  if  they  were  faithful  unto  death,  lie  would  give 
them  a  crown  of  life.  There  was  true  fortitude — 
there  was  true  faith — there  was  God's  strength  made 
perfect  in  woman's  weakness !  Do  you  not  see,  my 
friends,  that  such  a  death  was  truly  brave?  How 
does  bull-dog  courage  show  beside  that  courage — 
the  courage  which  conquers  grief  and  pain  for  duty's 
sake,  instead  of  merely  forgetting  them  in  rage  and 
obstinacy? 

And  do  you  not  see  how  this  bears  on  my  text  ? 
How  it  bears  on  our  Lord's  whole  life  ?  Was  he 
not  indeed  the  perfectly  brave  man — the  man  who 
endured  more  than  all  living  men  put  together,  at 
the  very  time  that  he  had  the  most  intense  fear  of 


270  THE  COURAGE  OF   THE  SAVIOUR.         [SERM. 

what  lie  was  going  to  suffer?  And,  stranger  still, 
endured  it  all  of  His  own  will,  while  He  had  it  in 
His  power  to  shake  it  all  off  any  instant,  and  free 
Himself  utterly  from  pain  and  suffering. 

Now,  this  speech  of  our  Lord's  in  the  text  is  just 
a  case  of  true  fortitude.  He  was  beyond  Jordan. 
He  had  been  forced  to  escape  thither  to  save  His 
life  from  the  mad,  blinded  Jews.  He  had  no  fool- 
hardiness  ;  He  knew  that  He  had  no  more  right  than 
we  have  to  put  His  life  in  danger  when  there  was  no 
good  to  be  done  by  it.  But  now  there  was  good  to 
be  done  by  it.  Lazarus  was  dead,  and  He  wanted 
to  raise  him  to  life.  Therefore  He  said  to  His  dis- 
ciples, "Let  us  go  into  Judea  again."  They  knew 
the  danger;  they  said,  "Master,  the  Jews  of  late 
sought  to  stone  Thee,  and  goest  Thou  thither 
again?"  But  He  would  go;  He  had  a  work  to  do, 
and  He  dared  bear  any  thing  to  do  His  work.  Ay, 
here  is  the  secret,  this  is  the  feeling  which  gives  a 
man  true  courage — the  feeling  that  he  has  a  work  to 
do  at  all  costs,  the  sense  of  duty.  Oh  !  my  friends, 
let  men,  women,  or  children,  once  feel  that  they  have 
a  duty  to  perform,  let  them  once  say  to  themselves, 
"I  am  bound  to  do  this  thing — it  is  right  for  me  to 
do  this  thing;  I  owe  it  as  a  duty  to  my  family,  I 
owe  it  as  a  duty  to  my  country,  I  owe  it  as  a  duty  to 
God,  who  called  me  into  this  station  of  life ;  I  owe  it 
as  a  duty  to  Jesus  Christ,  who  bought  me  with  His 
blood,  that  I  might  do  His  will  and  not  my  own 


XXV.]  THE  COURAGE  OF  THE  SAVIOUR.  271 

pleasure.'  When  a  man  has  once  said  that  honestly 
to  himself,  when  that  glorious,  heavenly  thought, 
'  It  is  my  duty,'  has  risen  upon  his  soul,  like  the  sun 
upon  the  earth,  warming  his  heart  and  enlightening  it 
and  making  it  bring  forth  all  good  and  noble  fruits, 
then  that  man  will  feel  a  strength  come  to  him,  and 
a  courage  from  God  above,  which  will  conquer  all  his 
fears  and  his  selfish  love  of  ease  and  pleasure,  and 
enable  him  to  bear  insults,  and  pain  and  poverty, 
and  death  itself,  provided  he  can  but  do  what  is  right, 
and  be  found  by  God,  whatever  happens  to  him, 
working  God's  will  where  God  has  put  him.  This 
is  fortitude — this  is  true  courage — this  is  Christ's 
likeness — this  is  the  courage  which  weak  women  on 
sick  beds  may  have  as  well  as  strong  men  on  the 
battle-field.  Even  when  they  shrink  most  from  suf- 
fering, God's  Spirit  will  whisper  to  them,  '  It  is  t 7y 
duty,  it  is  thy  Father's  will;'  and  then  they  will  find 
His  strength  made  perfect  in  their  weakness,  and 
when  their  human  weakness  fails  most  God  will 
give  them  heavenly  fortitude,  and  they  will  be  able, 
like  St.  Paul,  to  say,  "When  I  am  weak,  then  I  am 
strong,  for  I  can  do  all  things  through  Christ,  who 
strengthened  me." 

And  now,  remember  that  there  was  no  pride, 
no  want  of  feeling  to  keep  up  our  Lord's  courage. 
He  has  tasted  sorrow  for  every  man,  woman,  and 
child,  and  therefore  He  has  tasted  fear  also; 
tempted  in  all  things,   like  as  we  are,  that  in  all 


272  THE  COURAGE  OF  THE  SAVIOUR.        [SERM. 

things  He  might  be  touched  with  the  feeling  of  our  in- 
firmities, that  there  might  be  no  poor  soul  terrified  at 
the  thought  of  pain  or  sorrow,  but  could  comfort  them- 
selves with  the  thought,  Well,  the  Son  of  God  knows 
what  fear  is.  He  who  said  that  His  soul  was  troubled 
— He  who  at  the  thought  of  death  was  in  such  agony 
of  terror,  that  His  sweat  ran  down  to  the  ground  like 
great  drops  of  blood, — He  who  cried  in  his  agony, 
"Father,  if  it  be  possible,  let  this  cup  pass  from  me," 
He  understands  my  pain;  He  tells  me  not  to  be 
ashamed  of  crying  in  my  pain,  like  Him,  "Father,  if 
it  be  possible,  let  this  cup  pass  from  me,"  for  He  will 
give  me  strength  to  finish  that  prayer  of  His,  and 
in  the  midst  of  my  trouble  say,  "Nevertheless,  Father, 
not  as  I  will,  but  as  thou  wilt."  Remember,  again, 
that  our  Lord  was  not,  like  the  martyrs  of  old,  forced 
to  undergo  His  sufferings  whether  He  liked  them  or 
not.  We  are  too  apt  to  forget  that,  and  therefore  we 
misunderstand  our  Lord's  example,  and  therefore  we 
misunderstand  what  true  fortitude  is.  Jesus  Christ 
was  the  Son  of  God;  He  had  made  the  very  men  who 
were  tormenting  Him  ;  He  had  made  the  very  wood 
of  the  cross  on  which  He  hung,  the  iron  which  pierced 
His  blessed  hands;  and,  for  aught  we  know,  one  wish 
of  His,  and  they  would  all  have  crumbled  into  dust, 
and  He  have  been  safe  in  a  moment.  But  he  would 
not;  He  endured  the  cross.  He  was  the  only  man  who 
ever  really  endured  anything  at  all,  because  He  alone 
of  all  men  had  perfect  power  to  save  Himself,  even 


XXV.]  THE  COURAGE  OF  THE  SAVIOUR.  273 

when  He  was  nailed  to  the  tree,  fainting,  bleeding, 
dying.  It  was  never  too  late  for  Him  to  stop.  As 
He  said  to  Peter  when  he  wanted  to  fight  for  Christ, 
"  Thinkest  thou  that  I  cannot  now  pray  to  my  Father, 
and  He  shall  presently  give  me  more  than  twelve  le- 
gions of  angels?"  Hut  ITe  would  not.  He  had  to  save 
the  world,  and  He  was  determined  to  do  it,  whatever 
agony  or  fear  it  cost  Him.  St.  Peter  was  a  brave 
man.  He  drew  his  sword  in  the  garden,  and  attacked, 
single-handed,  that  great  body  of  armed  soldiers; 
cutting  down  a  servant  of  the  high-priest's.  But  he 
was  only  brave,  our  Lord  was  more.  The  blessed 
Jesus  had  true  fortitude ;  He  could  bear  patiently, 
while  Peter  could  only  rage  and  fight  uselessly.  And 
see  how  Christ's  fortitude  lasted  Him,  while  Peter's 
mere  courage  failed  him.  While  our  Lord  was  wit- 
nessing that  glorious  confession  of  His  before  Pilate, 
bearing  on  through,  without  shrinking,  even  to  the 
cross  itself,  where  was  Peter?  He  had  denied 
his  Master,  and  ran  shamefully  away.  He  had  a 
long  lesson  to  learn  before  he  was  perfect,  had 
Peter.  He  had  to  learn  not  how  to  fight,  but  how 
to  suffer — and  he  learnt  it;  and  in  his  old  age  that 
strong,  fierce  St.  Peter  had  true  fortitude  to  give 
himself  up  to  be  crucified,  like  his  Lord,  without  a 
murmur,  and  preach  Christ's  gospel  as  he  hung  for 
three  whole  days  upon  the  torturing  cross.  There 
was  fortitude;  that  violence  of  his  in  the  garden 
was  only  courage  as  of  a  brute  animal, — courage  of 
24 


274  THE  COURAGE  OF  THE  SAVIOUR.        [sERM. 

the  flesh,  not  the  true  courage  of  the  spirit.  Oh, 
my  friends,  that  we  could  all  learn  this  lesson,  that 
it  is  better  to  suffer  than  to  revenge,  better  to  be 
killed  than  to  kill.  There  are  times  when  a  man 
must  fight — for  his  country,  for  just  laws,  for  his 
family,  but  for  himself  it  is  very  seldom  that  he 
must  fight.  He  who  returns  good  for  evil, — he  who 
when  he  is  cursed,  blesses  those  who  curse  him, — he 
who  takes  joyfully  the  spoiling  of  his  goods,  who  sub- 
mits to  be  cheated  in  little  matters,  and  sometimes 
in  great  ones,  sooner  than  ruin  the  poor  sinful 
wretch  who  has  ill-used  him;  that  man  has  really 
put  on  Christ's  likeness;  that  man  is  really  going  on 
to  perfection,  and  fulfilling  the  law  of  love ;  and  for 
every  thing  he  gives  up  for  the  sake  of  peace  and 
mercy,  which  is  for  God's  sake,  God  will  reward 
him  sevenfold  into  his  bosom.  There  are  times 
when  a  man  is  bound  to  go  to  law,  bound  to  expose 
and  punish  evil-doers,  lest  they  should,  being  un- 
punished, become  confident,  and  go  on  from  bad  to 
worse,  and  hurt  others  as  well  as  him.  A  man 
sometimes  is  bound  by  his  duty  to  his  neighbours 
and  to  society  to  defend  himself,  to  go  to  law  with 
those  who  injure  him, — sometimes ;  but  never  bound 
to  revenge  himself,  never  bound  to  say,  "  He  has  hurt 
me,  and  I  will  pay  him  off  for  it  at  law;"  that  is 
abusing  law,  which  is  God's  ordinance,  for  mere 
selfish  revenge.  You  may  say,  it  is  difficult  to  know 
which  is  which,  when  to  defend  one-self,  and  when 


XXV.]  THE  COURAGE  OF  THE  SAVIOUR.  275 

not.  It  is  difficult;  without  the  light  of  God's 
Spirit,  I  think  no  man  will  know.  But  let  a  man 
live  by  God's  Spirit,  let  him  pray  for  kindliness, 
mercifulness,  manliness, and  patience,  for  true  forti- 
tude to  bear  and  to  forbear,  and  God  will  surely 
open  his  eyes  to  see  when  he  is  called  on  to  avenge 
an  injury,  and  when  he  is  called  on  to  suffer 
patiently.  God  will  show  him — if  a  man  wishes  to 
be  like  Christ,  and  to  work  like  Christ,  at  doing  good, 
God  will  teach  him  and  guide  him  in  all  puzzling 
matters  like  this.  And  do  not  be  afraid  of  being 
called  cowards  and  milksops  for  bearing  injuries 
patiently — those  who  call  you  so  will  be  likely  to 
be  the  greatest  cowards  themselves.  Patience  is 
the  truest  sign  of  courage.  Ask  old  soldiers,  who 
have  seen  real  war,  and  they  will  tell  you  that  the 
bravest  men,  the  men  who  endured  best,  not  in  mere 
fighting,  but  in  standing  still  for  hours  to  be  mowed 
down  by  cannon-shot;  who  were  most  cheerful  and 
patient  in  shipwreck,  and  starvation,  and  defeat, — 
all  things  ten  times  worse  than  fighting, — ask  old 
soldiers,  I  say,  and  they  will  tell  you  that  the  men 
who  showed  best  in  such  miseries,  were  generally  the 
stillest  and  meekest  men  in  the  whole  regiment: 
that  is  true  fortitude ;  that  is  Christ's  image — the 
meekest  of  men,  and  the  bravest  too.  And  so  books 
say,  and  seem  to  prove  it,  by  many  strange  stories, 
that  the  lion,  while  he  is  the  strongest  and  bravest 
of  beasts  of  prey,  is  also  the  most  patient  and  merci- 


276      THE  COURAGE  OE  THE  SAVIOUR.     [XXV. 

ful.  He  knows  his  own  strength  and  courage,  and 
therefore  he  does  not  care  to  be  showing  it  off.  He 
can  afford  to  endure  an  affront.  It  is  only  the 
cowardly  cur  who  flies  out  and  barks  at  every  passer- 
by. And  so  with  our  blessed  Lord.  The  Bible  calls 
Him  the  Lion  of  Judah;  but  it  also  calls  Him  the 
Lamb,  dumb  before  the  shearers.  Ah,  my  friends,  we 
must  come  back  to  Him,  for  all  the  little  that  is  great 
and  noble  in  man  or  woman,  or  dumb  beast  even, 
is  perfected  in  Him ;  He  only  is  perfectly  great,  per- 
fectly noble,  brave,  meek.  He  who  to  save  us  sinful 
men  endured  the  cross,  despising  the  shame,  till  He 
sat  down  at  the  right  hand  of  the  Majesty  on  high, 
perfectly  brave  He  is,  and  perfectly  gentle,  and  will 
be  so  for  ever ;  for  even  at  His  second  coming,  when 
He  shall  appear  the  Conqueror  of  hell,  with  tens  of 
thousands  of  angels,  to  take  vengeance  on  those 
who  know  not  God,  and  destroy  the  wicked  with  the 
breath  of  His  mouth,  even  then,  in  His  fiercest 
anger,  the  Scripture  tells  us,  His  anger  shall  be 
"the  wrath  of  the  Lamb."  Almighty  vengeance 
and  just  anger,  and  yet  perfect  gentleness  and  love 
all  the  while. — Mystery  of  mysteries ! — The  wrath  of 
the  Lamb !  May  God  give  us  all  to  feel  in  that  day, 
not  the  wrath,  but  the  love  of  the  Lamb  who  was 
slain  for  us! 


THE  END. 


; 


19 'i% 


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